


Something Kind of Wonderful

by dreamdustmama



Category: Merlin (BBC) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-08
Updated: 2010-09-08
Packaged: 2017-10-11 14:32:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/113462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamdustmama/pseuds/dreamdustmama
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(AU) In which Colin has writer's block, Katie is helpful, Bradley makes coffee, Angel is awesome, and along the way something kind of wonderful happens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Something Kind of Wonderful

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2010 [Merlin RPF Big Bang Challenge](http://community.livejournal.com/merlinbb_rpf).
> 
> Artwork is by [roguemouse](http://roguemouse.livejournal.com) on LJ. More awesomeness can be found [in her post.](http://community.livejournal.com/mousey_creation/4041.html)

[](http://s161.photobucket.com/albums/t233/dreamdustmama/?action=view&current=Divider_2.png)

"Oi! What the hell is this? I told you I wanted a non-fat decaf mocha latte, not this shit!"

Bradley takes a deep breath and bares his teeth in a tight smile, turning to face the surly customer. "I can assure you that a non-fat decaf mocha latte is exactly what I gave you, sir," he says, carefully keeping his clenched hands below the counter.

The man scowls and thumps his Styrofoam cup down. "Taste it and tell me that crap is what I ordered."

"I'm not allowed to do that," Bradley says as calmly as he can manage. "The only thing I can do is make you another one."

"Well then get to it," the man snaps, narrowing his eyes. "And it better be bloody right this time, or I'm going to speak to your manager."

Bradley clenches his jaw and nods shortly, turning around to make another drink. The man snorts derisively and then reaches into his suit pocket, pulling out what looks like a Blackberry. Bradley pauses, considering, and then glances around quickly before shifting just enough to the left to block what he's doing from view.

A few minutes later he hands the customer another full Styrofoam cup.

"Here you go," Bradley says pleasantly.

The man glares at him and snatches the cup away, taking a careful sip from the lid. His features smooth out slightly and he nods, but the thin-lipped smile he sends Bradley is nothing short of sarcastic. "That's better. Next time make sure you bloody well get it right to begin with." He throws a few notes on the counter and stalks away, muttering about incompetence and idiot employees.

"So what did you give him?"

Bradley turns to face Angel, blinking innocently. "Exactly what he ordered. A full-fat regular mocha latte."

Angel looks caught somewhere between amusement and admonishment. "That is _not_ what he ordered."

"He obviously thinks it is," Bradley says with a shrug, leaning against the counter and crossing his arms. "I gave him what he ordered the first time, but it apparently wasn't what he really wanted."

"You are so bad," Angel laughs. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you would be in if Tony found out?"

"Are you going to tell him?" Bradley challenges, raising an eyebrow.

Angel just rolls her eyes and grabs the abandoned coffee to pour down the sink. "Idiot. You have another customer, by the way." She quickly disappears through the door to the back.

Bradley glances behind him and then turns completely, a bright smile breaking out over his face. "Richard, mate! How are you today?"

"I'm just fine, my boy," Richard says. "The more important question is how are _you_? How did that date you were telling me about go?"

Bradley snorts and begins making Richard's regular order. "It was a complete disaster. We had absolutely nothing in common, and the whole time we were at dinner he kept harping on about his ex. And then he had the gall to ask me back to his place." Bradley pops a lid on the black coffee and slides it over the counter with a grin. "I told him the ex-boyfriend he still wishes he had wouldn't approve—and neither did I."

Richard chuckles and takes the coffee, handing over the money to pay for it. "Ah well. Dating wouldn't be dating if there weren't a few losers along the way. Don't worry, Bradley. When you meet the right one you'll know it."

"Maybe," Bradley agrees, shrugging slightly. "I have to admit that I'm getting tired of waiting, though."

"It'll happen when it's time to," Richard says, smiling. "You just have to let it." He gestures with his cup before turning to make his way toward his regular table.

"Bradley."

Bradley turns to see Tony looking out at him from behind the door to the back. "Yeah?"

"You're counting stock tonight," Tony tells him. "Angel says she's pet sitting her neighbor's dog, and apparently it can't be left alone at night."

"Yeah, alright," Bradley says after a moment.

Tony nods and disappears back into the back just as Angel slips past him into the main area, a large tray of fresh scones in her arms.

"Pet sitting, my arse," Bradley hisses at her, taking the tray. "Animals aren't allowed in your building."

Angel smiles innocently and reaches for the glass door under the counter where the baked goods are displayed. "It's called blackmail, Bradley—which I'm pretty sure you guessed, since you agreed to cover for me."

"Hussy," Bradley says, and continues to hold the tray as she arranges the scones.

*

It's three in the morning by the time he makes it home to his flat. His back aches and his vision is slightly blurred from a combination of counting and sleep deprivation, and he decided sometime around midnight that Angel is most definitely _not invited_ to the next footie match he plays with Santiago and Rupert.

Bradley strips down to his boxers and collapses face first onto his bed, sparing a grateful thought that Tony gave him the next day off. Or that day, rather. He groans into his pillows, decides it really doesn't matter, and lets sleep take him.

*

The sound of his mobile ringing wakes him late the next morning. He fumbles around on his bedside table for a few seconds before finding it, blindly thumbing at the answer button.

"'Lo?"

"Oi! Wake your lazy arse up."

Bradley sighs and rolls onto his back. "Fuck you, Rupert. I got the day off."

"Yeah, I know," Rupert says. "I was just at the shop and Angel told me. Something about blackmail and counting stock?"

"Angel is a hussy," Bradley says vaguely. "What do you want?"

Rupert snorts. "I've forgotten how lovely you are when you haven't had your mandatory sixteen hours of sleep."

"Fuck you," Bradley repeats, and yawns.

"They guys are having a bit of a match in a couple of hours over at the field," Rupert says, ignoring him. "Since you ended up with the day off Santiago and I thought you might want to join in."

Bradley forces his eyes open and glances blearily at the clock on his nightstand. "Yeah, alright."

"You're actually going to be awake enough to play, right?" Rupert asks. "We're not going to have to carry your weight are we?"

Bradley hangs up on him.

*

The match is hard and dirty, and Bradley loves every minute of it. He ends up scoring the winning goal, and rewards himself by collapsing in the middle of the field to grin up at the sky.

"So how was that date the other night?" Rupert asks from where he's stretched out a few feet away.

"Why does everybody keep asking me that?" Bradley muses. "It's not like I went on and on about it before hand."

Santiago snorts from his position somewhere above Bradley's head. "Because nobody should go as long as you have without getting a good fuck."

"This is true," Bradley agrees. "But I'm not going to just fuck _anybody_."

"Doesn't mean you have to be celibate," Rupert points out. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were waiting on The One."

Bradley scowls. "It's not like I'm a bloody virgin. But what if I am waiting on the one now? There's nothing wrong with that."

"Course not," Santiago says. "There's also nothing wrong with safe, casual sex every now and then."

"I'm tired of casual," Bradley says, and then sighs and closes his eyes against the sun. "I've had enough casual. I'm ready for something a bit more substantial. Something _real_."

Silence falls between the three friends, and then Rupert sits up and throws the football at Bradley's head. The resulting wrestling match is ultimately called a draw.

*

It's mocking him.

That stupid, bloody black line on a background of white, telling him exactly how much of a failure he really is.

_Blink. Blink. Blink._

Colin lets out a frustrated sound and slams his laptop shut, shoving it all the way to the back of his desk. He closes his eyes and lets his head drop down onto the wood with a loud _thunk_.

"…Ow."

"Having problems?"

Colin jumps and sits up straight, twisting to blink up at Katie. "What are you doing here?"

Katie frowns and hands him one of the Styrofoam cups that she's holding. "What do you think I'm doing here? I haven't heard from you in days!"

"Days?" Colin repeats weakly, glancing at the calendar hanging on the wall above his desk. Oh.

"Yes, _days_," Katie insists. She takes a seat on the arm of the nearby sofa. "I know you like your solitude, Colin, but ignoring all of my calls and texts isn't like you. I was seriously beginning to think something had happened!"

Colin blinks at her and then reaches to grab his mobile phone from where it's perched on the corner of his desk. He winces when he thumbs the screen and nothing happens; the battery has obviously gone dead.

"Sorry," he says, glancing at Katie. "I guess I forgot to charge it."

Katie's frown deepens. "Tell me what's going on."

Colin sighs and turns his gaze downward, staring morosely at the black lid on the coffee cup. "I have a serious case of writer's block," he mutters, and glares over at his laptop. It's mocking him too. "The deadline for the next book in the Onyx Sword series is only three months away, and I can't even manage to get the first bloody sentence out."

"What's the problem?" Katie asks worriedly. "The end of the last book had the sword moving on to the next world, didn't it? The possibilities are endless."

"That's exactly the problem," Colin scowls, a fresh wave of irritation washing over him. "A new world means new masters and a new enemy to defeat, but none of the heroes I create feel _right_. I can't quite get their characterizations to work, no matter how many different ways I approach it."

"Have you tried basing them on people you already know?" Katie suggests, brow furrowing.

"Yes," Colin says, shaking his head. "Though, in all honesty, doing that just feels too weird. Besides, nobody I know seems to fit."

Katie makes a thoughtful noise and they lapse into silence. Colin's stomach clenches with hunger, and he's reminded of how long he's been sitting at his desk, willing his book to write itself. The coffee cup is still in his hand so he raises it up and takes a sip. A pleased noise escapes him at the taste, smooth and rich but not overpowering like he's used to.

"Where did you get this?" Colin asks, holding up the cup. "It's _fantastic_."

Katie stares at him for a second and then a huge smile blooms over her face. "Wait here," she says, and before Colin can protest she's up and out the front door to his flat.

"Ok then," Colin says after a moment, and takes himself off for a much needed bathroom break.

When Katie returns twenty minutes later Colin is freshly showered and has finished the coffee, his laptop reopened in front of him. The cursor is still mocking him, and it's more than a small relief when she walks through the door and drops a plastic shopping bag in his lap.

"Here you go," she says cheerfully. "You can thank me later."

Colin raises an eyebrow and pulls a spiral-bound notebook and a pack of cheap pens from the bag. "Katie, what—"

"When was the last time you wrote anything longhand?" Katie asks. "You've been sitting here at your desk for Christ knows how long, and everything you've written since that first book was published _three years ago_ has been on your computer. You're stifling your creativity, Colin. You need something new to inspire you."

Colin blinks at her. "Um."

"Come on," Katie continues, undeterred. She wraps her hand around Colin's elbow and pulls him up, dragging him towards the door. "I got that coffee from a little shop five blocks east. It's called Tony's, and it's perfect. I go there all the time, and I think you might find exactly what you need."

"They don't have wireless?" Colin asks, glancing back at his laptop.

"Of course they do," Katie answers, rolling her eyes. "But the point is to _not_ use your computer."

"Katie—"

She stuffs a twenty quid note into his front jeans pocket and opens the door, shoving him out into the corridor beyond. "Don't come back until Tony's closes."

And she slams the door in his face, the locks clicking on the other side.

Colin stares at the door for a long, confused moment, and then looks down at the notebook and pack of pens still in his hand. "But—"

"Go, Colin. You're not getting back in this flat for at least another five hours."

"Katie—"

"_No_. Or I will hack into your official website and tell all of your fans that you've decided not to continue the Onyx Sword series, and that your next novel will be a romance instead."

Colin stares at the door in horror. "You wouldn't."

"Do you really want to risk it?"

Colin considers his options carefully, and then shoots the door a heated glare before turning on his heel and stalking away. Katie is _so_ not getting her twenty quid back.

*

Tony's is nice, Colin has to admit. It's bright and airy, the walls pale blue and cream and the floors hardwood. There are tables scattered around everywhere, some with one comfortable looking chair and others with two. The main counter is towards the back, several coffee machines behind it and the glass front displaying lots of different pastries. Set up beside it is a green chalkboard on a tri-pod stand, carefully written white letters announcing the day's special.

Colin's never really been one for the writing-in-a-coffeeshop cliché, but at this point he's willing to try anything, so he orders a soy French vanilla cappuccino and a scone from the girl behind the counter (her nametag says _Angel_) and settles into one of the single tables tucked away in a corner. The notebook Katie gave him is the kind he used to write in all the time. There are stacks of them in a huge bin in his closet, dating as far back as age ten when he wrote his first complete story about a dragon and a prince.

Smiling at the memory, Colin opens the notebook.

The blank page stares back at him.

Mocking him.

*

Five hours later Colin knocks on his own door, having found that it's still locked and Katie conveniently pushed him out earlier without his keys. It swings open and Katie eyes him expectantly.

"Well?"

Colin scowls and steps past her, heading straight for the couch and collapsing onto it. He drops the notebook beside him and leans his head against the sofa back, closing his eyes. He hears Katie shut the door and walk over to pick up the notebook, opening it and flipping through the pages. She snorts.

"Very creative, Colin. I don't think I've ever seen stick figures that were quite so _bendy_."

Colin opens his eyes and points at her. "Don't knock the stick figures. They took a lot of work."

"I'm sure," Katie says dryly, and tosses the notebook onto the coffee table. "Was there seriously _nothing_ at Tony's that inspired you?"

"Not really," Colin says unhappily. "It was a nice place, but…" He trails off with a shrug.

Katie frowns and sits on the other side of the couch, facing him. "The girl named Angel was working when I got the coffee from earlier. Was she still there?"

"Yes," Colin answers, eyeing her oddly. "Katie, you _do_ remember that I'm gay?"

Katie rolls her eyes and huffs. "Of course I do. Never mind, you can go back tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," Colin says flatly, sitting up straight. "For what reason? It obviously didn't work, there's no point in going back."

"You aren't giving up after only one day," Katie insists, and picks up the notebook to slap it against Colin's chest. "You _are_ going back tomorrow, and you _will_ stay until you write at least ten pages."

"_Ten_?!" Colin exclaims. "I can't even write half a page, much less ten!"

Katie ignores him, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her phone. "Chinese for dinner?"

"Vegetable Lo Mein, please," Colin says.

[](http://s161.photobucket.com/albums/t233/dreamdustmama/?action=view&current=Divider_3.png)

"So a cute guy came in yesterday."

Bradley groans and shifts the container of coffee beans he's carrying out to the machines in front. "Angel, please. The last time you tried to set me up the guy turned out to be _married_."

"A fact that I was not in the least aware of," Angel reminds him, turning the ovens on to get them ready for that day's baking. "And how do you know I don't want this guy for myself?"

"Because you would have said _so I met this cute guy yesterday_, or something like that," Bradley says, raising an eyebrow. "I know you, _Angel_. You are not nearly as subtle as you like to think you are." He backs his way out the door into the front area and sets the beans next to the grinder; they keep it out front so that the customers know they're getting the freshest coffee.

Angel follows him out. "Ha ha," she says dryly, crossing her arms. "I'm not wrong about this, Bradley. I hope he comes in again so I can point him out to you. He spent most of yesterday afternoon by himself at one of the tables, doing something in a notebook."

"Great," Bradley mutters, scooping the beans into the top of the grinder. "An unemployed-writer-wannabe-emo-kid. Exactly my type," he finishes sarcastically.

"He wasn't emo," Angel insists, rolling her eyes. "And you don't know he's unemployed. He might have just had the day off."

Bradley gives her a look and turns on the grinder.

~*~

The morning rush starts almost as soon as the doors open, and Bradley is kept busy taking orders and kissing up to annoying customers. He loves this time the most, when he's in the middle of the chaos and gets into his groove. He's damn good at what he does, and aside from twats like the one two days ago most of the people that come to his counter are more than pleased with the results.

As a matter of fact, Bradley gets so into what he's doing that Angel's quickly whispered, "That's him!" as the next customer in the queue steps up to the counter don't register as related. What does register, however, is the customer himself: tall and skinny with short black hair, bright blue eyes, ridiculously sharp cheekbones, and ears that shouldn't look nearly as adorable as they do.

"Welcome to Tony's," Bradley says automatically, suddenly feeling like all his breath has been knocked out of him. "What can I get for you today?"

The man gives him a distracted smile. "Soy latte, please," he says, an Irish accent clear in the words. He turns his head to look out over the coffeeshop, eyes darting around the tables, and Bradley allows himself a second to stare at the man's profile before moving to make his drink, heart pounding stupidly fast.

"Stop it, Bradley," he mutters to himself. "You make coffee for sexy men all the time. He's probably not even gay. Or interested."

Which is a really disheartening thought, for some reason.

Bradley rolls his eyes at himself and takes the man his finished latte, sliding it across the counter with a smile. "Here you go. That'll be three pounds fifty." The man hands over a tenner and Bradley quickly counts out his change, finally noticing the notebook with a pen stuck through the metal spirals that he's holding. Angel's words from a few minutes ago come back, and Bradley realizes that this must be the guy she was talking about earlier.

"Enjoy your coffee," Bradley says, and the man smiles vaguely at him again before pocketing the money and walking away with his drink. He can't help but watch him go, eyes tracing over the back of the man's t-shirt and baggy jeans.

The sound of a throat being cleared snaps his attention back to the line of customers on the other side of the counter, the woman in front looking harried and irritated. "I'm sorry," Bradley says, pasting on a smile. "What can I get for you?"

*

The rush finally lulls around mid-morning, and Bradley takes the opportunity to head for the tiny employee lounge in the back. He collapses across the loveseat that's set against one wall, closing his eyes and letting out a groan.

"Mad," he says. "Every bloody one."

"Even the cute one?" Angel asks from the doorway. "I saw you eyeing him up."

Bradley cracks open one eye to glare at her. "Aren't you supposed to be working?" He opens both eyes and struggles into a sitting position.

Angel snorts and crosses her arms. "Tony's out there." A wide grin spreads across her face. "I just wanted to take a second to say I told you so."

Bradley groans again. "You are downright irritating. Why am I your friend, again?"

"Because you secretly adore me," Angel says airily. "And you're totally into him. Admit it."

"How the hell could I be into him?" Bradley asks in annoyance, because damn it all she's _right_. "We've barely said twenty words to each other. I don't even know his name, much less whether or not he's interested in other blokes."

Angel shakes her head, her smile shifting into something softer. "I saw the way you looked at him. Love at first sight, yeah?"

Bradley snorts. "I don't believe in love at first sight. Love, yes, but not like that."

"Alright," Angel says with a shrug. "But there was definitely attraction at first sight, and if you deny it I will tell Tony about the switcheroo the other day."

"Foul!" Bradley immediately cries, back straightening as he points at her. "You've already used your blackmail card for that one, it's no longer on the table."

"Fine, fine," Angel says, holding her hands up in defense. "And for what it's worth, I tried to flirt with him yesterday, and it was definitely a no-go."

"Not every straight man is going to be interested in you, you know," Bradley points out with a huff, and then adds, "Hussy."

Angel picks up a cushion from a nearby armchair and throws it at his head. "You are such an arse."

Bradley laughs and grabs the cushion out of the air, tossing it to the other side of the room. "Doesn't matter anyway; straight, gay, or bi, he obviously wasn't interested."

"I don't believe that for a second," Angel protests. "He's still out there, at one of the tables. Why don't you take the rest of your break to go talk to him? See if that initial attraction could develop into something more."

Bradley feels something clench in his stomach and he slowly shakes his head. "I'd rather it not if the feeling can't or won't be returned."

Angel scowls. "Bradley, that's not something you can know until you at least get out there and try. Seriously, what the hell? You are not a coward."

"But—"

"No," Angel says, and stalks over to grab him by the wrist, yanking until he has no choice but to stand. "You are going out there, and you are going to say hello." She pulls him out of the room and down a short corridor to the main back area.

"Angel," Bradley tries, digging his heels in half-heartedly. "You know what I'm like; I'm just going to make a complete fool out of myself."

Angel ignores him and releases his wrist to pull out one of the small sheets of wax paper they use to hand customers their pastries. "Here," she says, picking up one of the single-serving, freshly-baked apple tarts and shoving it at Bradley. "Take this to him. And for fuck's sake, try not to say anything stupid."

Bradley takes the mini pie with a scowl. "Again, I ask you—why am I friends with you?"

"Because I care enough to be honest," Angel answers, and pushes him out the main door.

Tony is in the front, taking a customer's order, and only raises an eyebrow at Bradley's sudden appearance with a tart in hand. Bradley ignores him and takes a deep breath, walking through the space in the counter that leads out into the customer area. He scans the tables and spots the man sitting at one in a back corner, notebook open and a frustrated expression on his face. After a moment's hesitation Bradley heads for him. The man doesn't look up as he approaches, and seems entirely distracted by his notebook. When he's finally standing beside the table, Bradley swallows and then clears his throat. The man jumps, blinking as he looks up.

"Hi, sorry," Bradley says quickly. "I didn't mean to startle you. So, um, you've been sitting out here a while—which is fine, by the way, not a problem—and anyway, you didn't order anything to eat with your coffee this morning and I thought you might be hungry by now. So I brought you an apple tart."

He sets the tart down on the table next to the guy's notebook (which Bradley notices has several scribbled out lines) and belatedly remembers to add, "On the house."

The man looks very nonplussed and slightly confused. "Um. Thanks?"

"Right," Bradley says weakly after a moment. "No problem. I've, uh. I've got to get back to work, so…I hope you enjoy the tart."

He turns on his heel and walks away before he can prove himself to be an even bigger idiot. Tony is still behind the main counter, but there aren't any customers so he's watching Bradley with an amused expression.

"Well that was entertaining," Tony says when Bradley joins him behind the counter.

"I don't doubt it," Bradley mutters, positioning himself against the back wall where he'll be hidden from view from the area where the man is sitting. "I'm going to go hide in the back for the rest of my shift, okay?"

Tony chuckles and moves closer to clap a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, son, it's not as bad as all that. He _did_ watch you walk away, and he hasn't thrown the tart in the bin."

"He did?" Bradley asks, and then groans. "I am such an idiot. I don't even know why it matters."

"Some things can't be explained logically," Tony says with a shrug. "You saw him, you were attracted by that initial meeting, and now you want to see if it could lead anywhere. It's natural."

"Yeah, well," Bradley sighs. "It's not like I could even tell you his name or anything."

The door leading to the back swings open and Angel appears, looking exasperated. "You didn't find out his name? How could you _not_ find out his name?"

Bradley scowls at her. "I'd already embarrassed myself enough, I didn't really think randomly asking for his name would improve things very much."

"You really are an idiot," Angel says. "Asking for his name would have at least shown him that you're interested, and not just trying to be nice."

"You didn't hear me," Bradley argues. "There's no way he _can't_ know I'm interested, the way I just babbled away at him." He groans again and buries his face in his hands. "I shouldn't be allowed to interact with the rest of normal society. It only ever ends in disaster."

"Oh Bradley," Angel sighs, and pats him on the shoulder. "I know you know better than that."

"How about this?" Tony says, and Bradley drops his hands to look at him. "If he comes back tomorrow and doesn't try to completely avoid you, then you can try again. It's worth a shot, at the very least."

"And make sure you find out his name," Angel adds.

For a very, very brief second Bradley seriously considers finding a new job.

*

It only takes a few baffled moments after the barista hurries away for everything to click into place. Colin snorts in amusement and pulls out his mobile, quickly thumbing out a text to Katie.

_So you DID remember that I'm gay._

He sets his phone down and picks up the apple tart, sitting back in his chair and considering it carefully. The guy is definitely fit, Colin will give him that. His mobile buzzes and he uses his free hand to pick it up as he takes a bite of the tart.

_:D What did you think?_

Colin shakes his head, a small smile tugging at his mouth. _He's very blond._

He hits send and takes another bite of the tart. It's a hell of a lot better than he expected, though he probably shouldn't be all that surprised. Barely a minute passes before Katie responds.

_Yes, I know, not usually your type. You can at least give him a chance._

Colin sighs and waits until he's finished with the tart before he thumbs out a reply. _I don't have time. I've got to get this book finished, and the writer's block isn't easing up any._

He can almost see Katie rolling her eyes, and isn't surprised when she quickly fires back, _Maybe if you fuck him the block will go away._

_I don't do casual_ Colin reminds her. _And no, I won't make an exception._

Knowing this could go on all day he turns his phone off as soon as the message is sent, and ignores the small stab of regret at his decision.

*

Unsurprisingly, when he gets back to his flat that evening Katie has let herself in and is waiting on him. "Did you get any writing done?" she asks as soon as he shuts the door behind him. She doesn't give him a chance to answer, snatching the notebook from his hand.

Colin rolls his eyes and heads for the kitchen and the leftover Chinese. "Believe it or not I did, once I turned my phone off and started ignoring you."

"You mean once you finally registered the existence of the cute barista guy," Katie says smugly as she reads over some of his notes. "Colin, this is _good_."

"It's just a few ideas," Colin insists with a shrug, sticking one of the Chinese boxes into the microwave. He can't help but be pleased, though; Katie is always honest about whether or not his stuff is shite. "But yeah, I think I've got an idea of the world I want for this book. It's going to be a bit darker than the other two." He frowns. "I'm still blocked on characters, though. Every single one I create never seems to _speak_ to me like I need them to."

Katie closes the notebook and sets it down on the kitchen table. "You're thinking about this too hard. You need to find a way to relax and let it go for a little while, and then come back to it with fresh eyes."

"I can't do that," Colin says in frustration. "I have _three months_ to get this written, or at least enough of it written so that my editor doesn't completely massacre me. I don't have time to relax."

"Tell me, Colin," Katie says after a moment. "What did you really think of the cute barista guy?"

Colin frowns. The microwave beeps behind him but he ignores it. "I've already told you I'm not—"

"Excuses," Katie says, waving her hand dismissively. "Ignore all of that and be honest with me. What was your first impression?"

Colin sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. Leave it to Katie to put him through this when he least needs it. "Alright," he says, looking up at her. "Aside from the obvious fact that he's ridiculously fit, he seemed sweet enough. He brought me an apple tart and then tripped all over his words before hightailing it back to the back. It was kind of adorable, actually."

Katie grins widely. "He brought you an apple tart?"

"Yes," Colin says, and curses silently when he flushes. "But you do realize that initial impressions aren't always accurate?"

"Of course not," Katie says, rolling her eyes. "That's why you need to talk to him more, get to know the real him."

Colin is already shaking his head before she finishes the sentence. "Don't, Katie. He just might end up being pretty wonderful, and the last thing I need is the distraction of a new relationship. And _no_, casual is still not an option."

Katie scowls. "Fine," she says shortly. "Don't start a relationship, and don't be casual. But you can at least talk to him like a normal human being if he tries again to have a conversation."

"I never said I wouldn't talk to him at all," Colin points out with his own frown. "I just really don't need a relationship right now."

"Whatever you say, Colin," Katie mutters. "Whatever you say."

*

The next morning Colin waits in line at Tony's. Part of him hopes that the Angel girl is at the counter again, but when he gets close enough to see that it is, in fact, the blond guy, a much bigger part of him is equal parts relieved and nervous. Which is really, really ridiculous, because he means what he said to Katie—no casual and no relationship.

Really. He means it.

When it's Colin's turn to step up to the counter barista guy immediately flushes, a slightly embarrassed smile gracing his features. "Welcome back," he says. "What can I get for you today?"

Colin can't help but return the smile. "A soy hazelnut mochaccino, please."

"Coming right up," barista guy says, and moves away to make the drink.

Colin watches him work, and bemoans the fact that his deadline is so close and he has no time for anything but writing. A few short minutes later barista guy hands him his coffee, and Colin hands over the money to pay for it.

"Anything else I can get for you?"

"Not right now," Colin says, and then in a moment of pure insanity he looks him right in the eye and adds, "I should be here a while, though. Maybe some conversation when things slow down a little?"

Barista guy's eyes widen slightly and the flush from earlier returns. "Yeah, alright," he says, and then grins. "I'd like that."

"Good," Colin says, and isn't all that surprised to find that he means it. "Thanks for the coffee—" his eyes flick down to his nametag, "—Bradley."

He raises his eyes again to meet the other man's before he turns, smile on his face, and walks away, not giving the cute barista guy named Bradley time to respond.

*

"It is entirely unfair that you know my name but I still have no idea what yours could possibly be."

Colin looks up from where he's trying to outline the world he came up with for the next book in more detail, blinking a few times as his mind slowly shifts from fantasy into reality. Bradley is standing in front of him, a coffee in each hand and a cautious smile on his face. Colin sits back in his chair and returns the smile.

"Colin," he says. "My name is Colin."

Bradley's smile grows. "Well, _Colin_. Do you mind if I sit?"

"Be kind of awkward for us to have a conversation with you standing," Colin points out teasingly. Oh dear god, he's flirting.

"This is true," Bradley agrees, and sets one of the coffees down in front of Colin before sliding into the seat on the opposite side of the table. "It's the same as what you ordered this morning," he says, gesturing to the coffee cup. "Hope that's okay."

"More than," Colin says honestly, picking it up. "I think I'm already becoming addicted."

Bradley makes a thoughtful noise. "I would normally say that's a bad thing, but one, I work here and that would be counter—" he waves around vaguely, "—whatever, and two, I rather like you being here. So I think I'll just keep my mouth shut about the dangers of coffee addiction."

Colin laughs, and feels something warm bloom low in his belly. "In that case, my notebook and I thank you."

"What do you write in there anyway?" Bradley asks, and then immediately grimaces. "Sorry, that's none of my business. My mouth tends to say things I don't get a chance to pre-approve before they come out."

"No, it's alright," Colin says, and wonders what in fuck he's doing. The only one he ever talks to about his writing before it's published is Katie and his editor. "I'm working on a book, actually. Or I'm trying to; I've got a bad case of writer's block."

Bradley nods slightly. "I don't really know anything about writing, but I'd love to help if I could."

"I—" Colin starts, and then pauses as a flush spreads its way onto his face. "Think you may have already, actually."

Bradley blinks in surprise and then grins widely. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah," Colin says, and then bites down on his tongue to keep himself from saying anything else stupid. A smile tugs at his lips though, and Bradley's own widens when he sees it.

"Good to know," he says softly, and then clears his throat. "So, Colin. Do you have a last name, by chance?"

"I do," Colin says, and hesitates only slightly. "It's Morgan."

"Colin Morgan," Bradley repeats, and there isn't a single hint of recognition on his face. Instead, he holds his hand out over the table. "Nice to meet you. I'm Bradley James."

Colin grins widely and takes Bradley's hand to shake, the other man's fingers cool and dry against his palm. "It's a pleasure, Bradley James."

Bradley's eyes lock with his, and for a second Colin can't catch his breath. Their hands linger together for much too long to be simply friendly, and then Colin feels a quick squeeze before his is released.

"I've got to get back to work," Bradley says quietly, eyes still on Colin's. "Don't worry about the coffee; it's on the house."

"You can't keep giving me free food," Colin protests, but Bradley just shrugs and stands.

"Would you mind if I joined you again on my break tomorrow?"

Colin smiles. "That would be great."

"Brilliant," Bradley breathes with a wide smile of his own. "See you tomorrow then."

"Bye," Colin says, and stares after him as he walks away. An idea suddenly begins to form in his head and he draws in a sharp breath, turning it over a few times before breaking out into a wide grin. He grabs his pen and flips to a fresh page in his notebook, letting the words flow.

[](http://s161.photobucket.com/albums/t233/dreamdustmama/?action=view&current=Divider_3.png)

"Are you _shitting_ me?" Angel shrieks. "Colin _Morgan_?"

Bradley sends her an odd look from his side of the couch before turning his attention back to the Mario Kart game they're playing on her Wii. Well, that he's playing, because it seems like Angel has completely forgotten about it.

"Yes, Colin Morgan," Bradley says, leaning into the curve his kart is going around on the screen. "I'm pretty sure that's what he said. His accent is a bit on the thick side, though, so I guess it's possible I misheard him." His kart crashes and he scowls, dropping the remote onto her coffee table. "Why'd you quit playing?"

Angel stares at him for a second in disbelief, and then shakes her head. "I wonder about you sometimes, Bradley. Just…wait here." She hops up off the couch and heads toward the bookshelf in the corner of her living room, pulling down a couple of thick hardbacks. "These," she says, and walks back to Bradley, shoving the books at his chest, "are the first two books in the Onyx Sword series. They're written by a local Irish man named Colin Morgan."

Bradley blinks at her and then looks down at the books now in his arms. "Seriously?" He opens the front cover of the one on top and skims through the book's description. "He did say he was trying to write a book, but I didn't think he was already published."

Angel taps the first page of the open book. "These books are incredible. He's got some serious talent, and I, for one, can't wait for the next one to come out."

Bradley makes a thoughtful noise and closes the cover of the book. "Can I borrow these?"

"Of course," Angel says. "Just make sure you don't give them back with ketchup stains all over the pages."

Bradley narrows his eyes at her and sets the books down on the floor by his feet before reaching over to grab his Wii remote from the coffee table. "Bring it on, Coulby."

Angel raises a challenging eyebrow and picks up her own remote from where she'd dropped it on the couch earlier. "You're going down, James. You are going _down_."

*

"Alright," Bradley says the next day, sliding into the seat opposite Colin's. His heart is beating a bit erratically in his chest, and he hopes he isn't bothering Colin too much. "Blueberry or banana nut?"

Colin glances up from his notebook, and when he sees the muffins in Bradley's hands his lips quirk. He sits back in his chair and taps his finger against his chin, making a thoughtful noise. "I think…banana nut."

"Good choice." Bradley grins, relief flooding him, and pushes the banana nut muffin on its napkin across the table. "They're incredible."

"I don't doubt it," Colin says, taking the muffin. "Everything I've tried so far has been."

"That's what keeps you coming back, isn't it?" Bradley asks teasingly. "It's not my few minutes of scintillating conversation, it's the baked goods."

Colin breaks off a hunk of the banana nut muffin and pops it into his mouth, making a thoughtful noise. He considers Bradley carefully as he chews, the hint of seriousness in his expression making Bradley's breath catch in his throat. He stares back, unable to stop himself.

"I don't know," Colin eventually says after swallowing the bit of muffin. "You do make a mean cup of joe."

"Oh, so my coffee is why you talk to me," Bradley says, nodding slightly. "I see how it is."

"There you go," Colin agrees, gesturing at him with the muffin in his hand. "I like you for your coffee."

Bradley feels a huge grin bloom across his face but before he can think of anything to say in return he's being tapped on the shoulder. He twists his head around to see Angel giving him an apologetic look.

"I've still got five minutes," he says, trying not to sound annoyed.

"I know," Angel says, "but Tony's called us for a meeting."

Bradley curses under his breath and turns back to Colin. "Apparently I'm being summoned. It's probably important; Tony doesn't usually call meetings in the middle of the day."

"Go on, then," Colin says, waving him away. "You're distracting me anyway."

"_Distracting_?" Bradley splutters indignantly, and Colin grins widely. Bradley narrows his eyes and points a finger at him. "Ingrate. See if I bring you any more baked goods."

"Can I still have the coffee?" Colin asks innocently.

Bradley huffs. "That's all it is, isn't it? The bloody coffee."

"Maybe," Colin says, smile playing at his lips. "Maybe not."

"Unacceptable," Bradley protests.

"Come on, Mr. Obvious," Angel interrupts, amusement clear in her voice as she takes hold of Bradley's elbow and forces him up from the chair. "Tony's waiting."

Colin snickers even as Bradley glares at her. "There are times when I really hate you. This is one of them."

"I know," Angel says cheerfully, and then grins and waves at Colin as she pulls Bradley along.

When they reach Tony's office Bradley is surprised to see two teenagers sitting in a couple of the chairs, and exchanges a confused look with Angel.

"There you are," Tony says, waving them further in. "Now that everything is settled I think it's time for some introductions. Bradley, Angel—this is Joe and Laura. I've hired them to work on the weekends so you two can have some much deserved time off and they can get some work experience. You'll be training them today, and then tomorrow the new schedule will start."

"Oh," Bradley says, blinking. He glances over at the two new employees, Joe's jaw set slightly defiantly and Laura looking a bit nervous.

"You know we don't mind working weekends," Angel says carefully.

"I know, I know," Tony says, waving his hand dismissively. "But you two work almost every day without a break, and that's not healthy for anybody. You'll both still work the weekdays, and each of you will also be getting a raise to compensate for the lost weekend hours."

"Works for me," Bradley says, and holds out his hand to Laura and Joe in turn. "Welcome to Tony's."

*

It doesn't occur to him until a few hours later that having the very next day off means that not only will he not see Colin, but he might not even get a chance to tell him that he won't see him. This doesn't sit right at all with Bradley, but the logical part of his brain reminds him that he's only known Colin a week and there's no possible way the other man can be expecting anything from him.

Which kind of leaves him feeling a bit disappointed.

Frowning at himself, Bradley glances over at Colin's table. He's writing furiously in his notebook, head bent and the tip of his tongue caught between his teeth. Bradley can't help but grin at the sight, eyes tracing over Colin's profile. An odd mix of pride and pure affection surge through Bradley, and he can't help but roll his eyes at how pathetic he's being.

A loud crash sounds behind him and he jumps, spinning around to see one of the smaller espresso machines on the floor and a puddle of dark liquid spreading everywhere. Laura scrambles up onto a counter to get away from it, making a distressed noise as she looks from the coffee to Bradley.

"I'm sorry!" she cries. "I didn't mean to, I was just turning to get something and I didn't realize I was so close—"

Bradley holds up both hands to halt the flow of words, quirking his lips into a smile. "My first day here involved three broken coffee pots, four dozen burnt biscuits, at least twelve wrong orders, and the unintentional shredding of two employee manuals. I promise you, it will be okay."

The door to the back swings open and Angel looks out. "Crap," she says when she sees the espresso machine. She looks up at Laura—who is now near tears—and her expression softens. "Come on, love, let's get you a mop. Bradley and Joe can take care of the machine."

Laura cautiously slides off the counter and steps around the coffee as best she can, glancing briefly at Bradley as she passes. Angel disappears with her into the back and Bradley heaves a sigh as he looks down at the machine. He pulls his gaze back up and his eyes automatically land on Colin, his stomach lurching when he realizes that Colin is staring back at him, brow creased.

"Alright?" Colin mouths at him, and Bradley nods before making as ridiculous a face as he can think of. Quiet laughter reaches him and he gives Colin a pleased smile before sighing and turning back to the broken espresso machine.

It had been his favorite.

*

By the time the mess is cleaned up and it's determined that the espresso machine is beyond repair (Laura really does cry at that), the late afternoon rush of people leaving work is just beginning. Bradley gives both Joe and Laura a crash course in filling orders, watching carefully to make sure they don't seriously mess anything up. Despite the accident earlier Laura takes to it easily, and Bradley thinks she might actually be able to handle things well enough. Joe, on the other hand, reminds Bradley a lot of himself when he first started, except with a temper about ten times worse.

"I hate stupid people," Joe mutters at one point, and Bradley has to turn away to choke back his laughter.

It's five minutes to closing when the crowd finally clears, and Bradley suddenly realizes that he never got a chance to tell Colin that he wouldn't be there the next day. He glances over at the table Colin had been sitting at, but there's no sign of him. A sharp stab of disappointment hits Bradley in the gut, and he can't help but wonder when exactly he had started to care about a near stranger knowing his work schedule.

And when he puts it like that, there's no doubt left in his mind that he has really and truly gone round the bend.

Sighing heavily, Bradley gets Joe and Laura started on turning the chairs over onto the tables and sweeping the floors before he begins cleaning out the machines. Angel joins him, giving him a knowing look as she helps drain the unused coffee.

"You never got another chance to talk to him, did you?" she asks quietly. "To tell him you wouldn't be here tomorrow."

Bradley rolls his eyes, not wanting to admit anything to her. "God, Angel. I've only known him a week. It's not like we're attached at the hip or anything."

"Yet," Angel quips, and then grins when Bradley glares at her. "Seriously, Bradley, you should ask him out. I'm sure he'd say yes."

Bradley hesitates. "Maybe," he says, and begins restacking the coffee cups. Something nervous and kind of scared flutters in his stomach at the thought of going out on a real date with Colin. "But even if he did I'd probably fuck it up somehow."

Angel snorts and throws a nearby cleaning cloth at him. "Don't be ridiculous. He obviously likes you already, and you haven't been anything but yourself." Bradley just shrugs slightly, and she sighs. "Fine, be difficult about it. Why don't we go out for drinks, since for once we don't have to get up early?"

Bradley considers this for all of three seconds before remembering the two books waiting on his bedside table. "Actually," he says, flushing slightly and looking anywhere but at Angel. "I kind of wanted to get started on those books, so…"

Angel looks astonished for a brief moment and then tilts her head back and laughs loudly. "Oh, Bradley," she gasps out. "You have got it _bad_."

Bradley opens his mouth to protest but then snaps it shut and groans, burying his face in his hands. "Christ. How is this possible after one week of ten minute conversations?"

"The heart knows what it wants, lover boy," Angel points out. "And apparently, yours wants Colin Morgan." She pats him on the arm and heads for the back to clean up.

Bradley drops his hands and places them on the counter, leaning against it and staring out at the tables still being cleaned by Laura and Joe. Colin _does_ seem pretty brilliant, and that's not even counting being a published author. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad letting himself fall for him—if Colin doesn't have any objections, of course.

And that's really the crux of the matter, isn't it? Colin flirts with him easily enough, but that doesn't mean he'd be interested in something as serious as Bradley seems to be. For all Bradley knows, Colin already has a boyfriend.

That thought knocks the breath from his lungs, and Bradley suddenly realizes that _serious_ is probably a vast understatement.

*

Bradley wakes late the next morning to a loud knocking on his door. Groaning in protest, he blearily cracks open one eye and sees nothing but a page full of words. Oh right. He must have fallen asleep reading the first book of Colin's Onyx Sword series. It had been too good to stop, and he can see why Angel is so excited about the third one.

The knocking sounds again and Bradley scowls, rolling off the bed to shuffle out of his bedroom and down the hall to the door. He's extremely unsurprised to find that it's Angel on the other side.

"What do you want?" Bradley asks, yawning. "Shouldn't you be at home with a hangover?"

Angel snorts and pushes past him into the flat. "Don't be ridiculous; it's no fun to go out to the pub by yourself."

Bradley squints at her. "You need a boyfriend."

"Excuse you," Angel huffs, poking him in the shoulder. "Mr. I'm-too-scared-to-ask-out-a-bloke-who-actually-interests-me-and-obviously-likes-me-back."

Bradley blinks. "What?"

Angel just rolls her eyes. "Nothing. Go get dressed; we're going down to the field for some footie."

"Why do you go to our matches anyway?" Bradley asks, yawning again. "You don't even _like_ football."

"No," Angel agrees, and flashes a wicked grin. "I _do_ like to watch hot, sweaty men run around though."

Bradley glares at her. "Hussy."

"Dressed," Angel orders. "Now."

*

Rupert and Santiago are already down at the field when they get there, along with the rag-tag group they normally play with. Angel waves at them and they join the two of them on the sidelines.

"Don't tell me the two of you got sacked," Santiago says, raising an eyebrow teasingly.

"Nope," Angel says, grinning. "Tony hired a couple of teenagers for the weekend shifts, so now we've got some time off."

"Brilliant," Rupert says, tossing the football in his hands to Bradley. "So you'll be around for more games, yeah?"

"Yep," Bradley agrees. "And I'm looking forward to kicking some arse on a more regular basis."

"When he's not with his new boyfriend, that is," Angel puts in casually, and both Rupert and Santiago give her startled looks while Bradley groans loudly.

"Oh my god," he says. "I really, _really_ hate you sometimes."

Angel snorts derisively. "You don't, you love me."

"Wait a minute," Rupert says, holding up one hand. "Since when do you have a boyfriend?"

"Wasn't it just last week you were going on about finding _The One_?" Santiago asks. "If you were already seeing someone why didn't you say so?"

"Because I'm _not_ seeing anyone," Bradley grumbles, glaring as hard as he can at Angel.

"Aww, don't be shy about it now," Angel teases, and then turns to Santiago and Rupert. "There's a guy that's been coming into the shop all week, and Bradley has been spending his breaks talking to him and giving him free coffee and tarts and muffins."

"Sounds like true love to me," Rupert laughs.

Bradley blushes hotly. "Just because I talk to him doesn't mean he's my boyfriend," he protests. "And the coffees and stuff aren't actually free."

"Yes, because _you pay for them_," Angel points out, incredibly unhelpfully in Bradley's opinion. "Which I am fairly certain he's completely unaware of."

"So when do we get to meet him?" Santiago asks, eyes shining with humour. "A week's worth of dates warrants introducing the friends, I should think."

"They weren't dates!" Bradley exclaims, starting to feel slightly panicked.

"Then you should bring him to the match next week," Rupert suggests. "You obviously like him. That can be your first 'official' date."

"But—" Bradley splutters.

"Nope, it's settled," Santiago interrupts. "Next Saturday, or we'll have to stop by for a coffee one day."

Neither of them waits for Bradley to answer, turning to hurry back across the field. Bradley stares after them for a shocked second before turning to an innocent looking Angel.

"You are truly evil," he tells her.

She grins widely. "I know."

[](http://s161.photobucket.com/albums/t233/dreamdustmama/?action=view&current=Divider_3.png)

Colin goes over the notes he's made for his book while standing in line at Tony's on Saturday morning. He's fairly satisfied with how things are going; the world he's building is darker than the other two, more sinister in its very existence, and he thinks his readers will like it. And the main characters—he grins as he reads over the descriptions of a young blond-haired-blue-eyed boy named Alex and his dark-haired-equally-blue-eyed best friend Milo.

It's completely self-indulgent, Colin has to admit, but basing them on himself and Bradley had just seemed to come naturally, and he so far he really likes them.

"Welcome to Tony's, how can I help you?"

Colin blinks and looks up at the unfamiliar female voice, and sees a harried-looking teenage girl behind the counter. "Er. Hello," he says, hesitating slightly. "Is Bradley here?"

The girl looks a bit nonplussed at that. "No, he and Angel have weekends off now."

"Oh." Colin frowns slightly, and thinks he feels a lot more disappointed than he probably should. "Alright. Um, I'll take just a regular coffee then. Black."

The girl looks vastly relieved at that, and Colin has to bite back a small grin. Over the past week he's seen how busy Bradley can get taking orders, and feels a spark of sympathy for this new girl. He pays for his coffee when she hands it over and then quickly makes his way to the table he always sits at, opening his notebook as soon as he's settled.

Colin stares down at the page full of notes on the two heroes, and wonders what Bradley's doing. And then he wonders why he cares. It hits him all of a sudden that he doesn't actually know all that much about Bradley, despite all the conversations they've had over the past week. Colin has no idea what he likes to do for fun, what his favorite film is, where he likes to go for a quick bite to eat. And the thing is, Colin realizes, he really wants to know these things; he wants to know everything he can about Bradley.

Which sounds just-this-side of disturbing, actually, but there it is. He's never been one to lie to himself, so as much as he told Katie no a week ago he has to admit that yeah, he would like to see where things could go with Bradley.

But that doesn't change the fact that he still has to write a book in less than three months, so he sighs at himself and pulls his pen from the notebook's spirals.

*

Katie nearly pounces on him the second he walks in the door, snatching the notebook from his hands and flipping it open.

"How much did you get done today?" she asks, not looking at him.

Colin rolls his eyes and shuts the door behind him. "Don't you have anything better to do? Or maybe you could, I don't know, _go home_ to your own flat?"

Katie, of course, ignores him. "What the fuck, Colin?" she says with a scowl, looking up at him. "Half a bloody page?"

"I had some trouble concentrating," Colin says dismissively, heading for the sofa and hoping she doesn't see the flush rising on his face. "It's no big deal."

Katie follows him, throwing the notebook down on the coffee table before sitting on the other side of the couch. "Was the cute barista guy distracting you?"

"He wasn't even there," Colin mutters, rubbing a hand over his face. "And his name is Bradley."

There's a brief pause, and then Katie is laughing with glee. "Oh god, Colin," she gasps out. "You're utterly mad for him already, aren't you?"

"I'm not," Colin protests, dropping his hand to glare at her. "I've only known him a week, how could I be mad over him?"

Katie reaches over to pick up the notebook, waving it in front of Colin's face. "You had writer's block," she says pointedly. "You met _Bradley_ and it eased off enough for you to start really planning out this book. And today, he wasn't there for you to see and you got shit done because you couldn't concentrate."

Colin flushes deeply. "That means nothing," he says tightly, snatching the notebook away. "Coincidence."

Katie snorts. "Bollocks. You couldn't write today because you _missed_ him, didn't you?"

"No," Colin lies uncomfortably. "Don't you have a goldfish or something you need to go feed? A piranha maybe?"

Katie makes a delighted noise. "Admit it!" she demands, poking him in the arm. "Admit that you really, actually _like_ him. I'm not leaving until you do, I don't care if I have to camp on your sofa for the next two months."

Colin groans and grabs one of the throw pillows to smother himself with. "Fine," he says after a long hesitation, voice muffled by the pillow. "I like him. A lot."

The triumphant bragging he fully expects never comes, and after a moment the pillow is pried away from his hands and Katie is looking at him expectantly.

"And does he like you?"

Colin hesitates. "I think so?" he says unsurely, scraping his thumbnail nervously over the material of his jeans. "He seems to. We talk every day during his break, and he keeps bringing me coffee and pastries."

"The language of love," Katie teases lightly. "Seriously. You should ask him out."

"I can't," Colin says with real disappointment. "I'm not kidding when I say I've got to focus on my book."

Katie gives him an irritated look. "Colin, today seems to have proven that you kind of need him around to finish it. Even if the writer's block is gone, apparently his absence is enough to distract you from what you should be doing. If his being around helps you write better, then I don't understand why you're so resistant to the idea of dating him."

"Don't you see anything wrong with that at all?" Colin asks, not caring that he maybe sounds a little bit desperate. "One week and he's already gotten under my skin enough to affect my writing. Katie, _nobody_ has ever affected my writing before. Not a single god damned person, and now I meet this man—whom I honestly don't know all that well even after a week's worth of conversation—and he just…Christ, I don't even know."

This time Katie's look is filled with sympathy, and she reaches over to squeeze Colin's hand. "That's not a bad thing, you know. It's okay to like someone that much after such a short time. Yes, if you two start dating and spending more time together you might realize that you aren't suited for each other and move on. But for now—that's how relationships start. You meet, you're attracted, you talk and discover that there's this awesome new person that you'd love to get to know better. So you do. And it goes from there, and maybe it will end but maybe, just maybe, the two of you will fall in love and you'll get your own happy ending instead of settling for living vicariously through your fictional characters."

Colin huffs out a quiet laugh. "When did you get so worldly and knowledgeable? Where's the girl who thought she could kiss the gay out of me when we were fourteen?"

"Oi!" Katie exclaims indignantly, flushing red and picking up the throw pillow to whack him in the face with it. "I thought I told you never to mention that again!"

Colin burst into peals of laughter as she keeps hitting him, raising his arms to fend her off. It's that or admit to her face that he doesn't know what he'd do without her, and there's no way in hell that's going to happen.

*

By the time Monday rolls around Colin is both anxious and oddly excited. He had spent Sunday at home in the hopes of giving himself some space to think outside of Tony's, but all he had managed to conclude was that he really, really wanted to see Bradley again. That, and that his own coffee is nowhere near as good. And now he's standing in line with his notebook clutched tightly in one hand and his stomach twisting dangerously. Bradley is behind the counter, and Colin is certain he's seen him look his way a few times.

When he finally reaches the counter the smile Bradley gives him is both relieved and nervous, and something inside Colin relaxes. "Hello," he says, voice coming out quieter than he intended.

"Hi," Bradley answers. "I'm glad to see you back."

Colin grins. "That should be my line, I think. I'm not the one who disappeared without warning."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Bradley says with a wince. "I had no idea I was going to get a couple days off so suddenly."

"Oh, don't worry about it." Colin hears a few grumbles behind him and rolls his eyes at the same time as Bradley. "Soy vanilla frappaccino please, before I get kicked out of line."

"Coming right up," Bradley laughs, and turns to make the drink.

When he hands it over a minute later their fingers brush, and even though he tries really hard not to Colin smiles at the touch, his eye catching Bradley's. "See you at your break?"

Bradley grins widely. "Definitely."

Colin's smile doesn't fade as he walks away.

*

Bradley can't remember the last time he was this nervous.

"Oh god," he hisses, biting down on one of his thumbnails and bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet. He's in a corner behind the counter, peering at Colin cautiously through a crack between coffee machines. "Oh fuck. Angel. Angel, what if he says no?"

"He won't say no," Angel says soothingly, tugging Bradley's hand away from his mouth.

"But what if he _does_?" Bradley insists, turning to look at her desperately. "What if he says no and things get awkward and all the conversations during my breaks stop?" A sudden thought occurs to him and Bradley twists his hand to grip Angel's wrist in panic. "Oh my god. What if he's not even gay? I nearly had a heart attack at the idea of him already having a boyfriend, but what if he's got a bloody _girlfriend_ instead? Oh god, oh god." Bradley groans and covers his face with his hands.

"Bradley," Angel says firmly, pulling his hands down so that she's looking him in the eye. "If he's not gay, I will eat my own knickers for breakfast. Okay? He's been very obviously flirting with you all bloody week, and you know he has."

"Right," Bradley says weakly, and she is, she's absolutely right. He and Colin have been doing nothing but flirting, and it's a logical next step for one of them to ask out the other. He's still not sure why it has to be him, though.

"Are you calm now?" Angel asks, a hint of amusement in her eyes, and Bradley nods hesitantly. "Good. Now, take a few of the biscuits I just got out of the oven and get your arse over there. And if you come back without having even _tried_ to ask him out, I will beat you over the head with something hard."

Bradley snorts, some of his nervous tension easing away. "Wench."

Angel gives him a slight push. "Go on, before I call him over here and ask him for you."

And that thought is just scary enough to have Bradley grabbing a handful of napkins and putting several of the warm chocolate biscuits on them. He pauses long enough to take a deep breath and school his features into something much calmer than he's actually feeling, and then makes his way over to Colin's table.

Colin is bent over his notebook again, lines and lines of inked words making the paper curl slightly, his hair spiked up in all kinds of wild directions as though he's been running a hand through it. It looks like kitten fluff, and Bradley finds himself wanting to bury his own hands in it. Flushing slightly, he clears his throat and slides into the empty seat on the other side of the table, placing the napkin-full of biscuits just in front of the notebook.

Colin glances up at him, expression vague for a second before he breaks out in a wide grin. "Hey," he says, setting his pen down on the page he's writing on and closing the notebook. "Break time already?"

"Yep," Bradley says, crossing his arms on the table top and leaning on them. "Hope you like chocolate biscuits."

"Who _doesn't_ like chocolate biscuits?" Colin laughs, taking one and biting into it. "Christ," he says around it. "Especially these." He sends Bradley a sly look. "Any way I could talk you out of the recipe?"

Bradley blinks, mind going momentarily blank as his mind conjures up numerous other situations Colin could look at him like that and be able to talk him out of anything. "Well, you're welcome to try."

"Try?" Colin repeats, lips twitching. "So nothing I did would be successful?"

Bradley lets out a slightly breathless laugh. "Not for the recipe." He pauses, grimacing slightly. "Considering I don't actually know it. Tony and Angel are the only ones."

Colin's eyebrows rise. "Is it that much of a secret that you can work here and not know it?"

"Well," Bradley says slowly, sitting back in his chair as his face grows a bit hot. "It's less to do with it being that much of a secret and more to do with the fact that I can't cook worth shit. Tony banned me from learning any of the recipes after my first week, when I nearly destroyed the kitchen several times over."

Colin bursts out laughing. "The first time wasn't enough?"

"Apparently not," Bradley admits, only slightly sheepish. "Tony didn't know me too well at that point, and I was determined to learn. But that was—seven? Eight years ago? So we're fairly confident by now that my cooking skills will never develop past making the coffee. I'm good at the coffee."

"Yes, you are," Colin agrees, still sounding amused. "And I'm impressed at how long you've worked here."

Bradley shrugs. "Since I was eighteen. I guess you could say I've got staying power. It gets pretty insane at times, but I love it." Colin smiles and Bradley feels his stomach clench with nerves again; if he waits any longer he's going to go mad. "So, um. Can I ask you something?"

Colin looks at him, seeming to consider, and then sets down his half-eaten cookie, brushing the crumbs from his fingers. "Alright," he says. "Go for it."

Bradley thinks that maybe Colin has it figured out already, and the fact that he's not already saying no makes hope spread through him. "Okay. Um, I'm on sort of a mish-mash of a football team that has matches on Saturdays, and now that I've got weekends off I've got more time to play." He has to pause, swallowing, before saying the rest. "So I was just wondering if maybe you'd like to go with me this Saturday and watch the match."

Colin stares at him for a long second, and Bradley's heart begins knocking violently against his ribcage.

"Just to clarify," Colin eventually says. "Are you asking me on a date?"

Bradley feels his face flame, and his stomach twists. "Yeah," he says weakly, and a huge smile blooms across Colin's face.

"In that case," Colin says, "absolutely."

Relief floods Bradley and he lets out a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. "Great," he breathes, neither willing nor able to stop himself from grinning. "Brilliant. Ah—I'm not exactly sure what time the game will start, it's usually in the early afternoon. I'll have to call my mates and double check." He pauses, suddenly realizing something. "You don't mind that, do you? Meeting my friends on our first date, I mean."

Colin looks slightly surprised at that, as though he hadn't considered it either. "Oh," he says. "Um. No, I guess not. Especially if you're implying there'll be more than one date."

"I'd like there to be," Bradley says honestly, some of the anxiety from earlier returning. "If you do?"

"I think I would, yeah," Colin says, smiling softly.

Bradley returns the smile, feeling happier than he can remember being in ages.

[](http://s161.photobucket.com/albums/t233/dreamdustmama/?action=view&current=Divider_3.png)

For Colin, the next several days pass in a blur of writing and coffee and quick conversations with Bradley about Saturday. The closer it comes the more nervous and excited he feels. He can't even bring himself to tell Katie that he's going on a date with Bradley for fear that saying the words will result in his being sick all over her shoes. He hasn't felt like this since his very first date with another boy at age sixteen, and that resulted in Katie stealing his allowance every week for six whole months so that she could replace the designer shoes he had ruined.

But when Saturday morning dawns and Colin finds himself having a mild panic attack, the only thing he can think to do is call his best friend.

"I have a date with Bradley," Colin immediately says when she picks up. "And I can't breathe."

There's a brief pause. "Okay," Katie finally says, "we're going to talk later about the reason you didn't tell me you had a bloody _date_ with Bradley, but right now I want you to quit pacing—don't deny it, I know you are—and sit down."

Colin stops pacing and sits on the foot of his bed, but his leg continues to jerk up and down nervously. "Katie, why am I this nervous? I don't ever get this nervous. I haven't been this nervous since the shoe incident."

"First of all, _we don't talk about the shoe incident_," Katie orders. "Second, you're this nervous because of how much you like him. Now, I want you to close your eyes and take a deep breath. Hold it for a few seconds and then let it out _slowly_."

Colin does as she says, and is surprised to find that his nerves calm just a little. "Okay," he says, opening his eyes. "Okay."

"Better?" Katie asks.

Colin places a hand on his jittery leg to still it. "A little."

"It's alright to be nervous, Colin. You'll be fine."

"Right," Colin says weakly.

"And now that you're calmer," Katie starts, and Colin groans. "I want details."

He sighs and runs his free hand through his hair. "He asked me on Monday. Apparently he's got weekends off now, and when he's off he plays football with his friends. He asked me to go with him today and watch the match."

"Oh god," Katie says. "You're meeting his friends already? And you don't even like football."

"Yeah," Colin answers. "I really don't care."

"What are you going to wear?"

Colin pauses and eyes his closet. "Um."

Katie sighs. "That's what I thought. Let me think—oh, I know. Wear the grey stonewashed jeans with that bright blue shirt. You know the ones I'm talking about. And those bracelets; the beads and the leather strap. Those are a definite must. Oh, and a belt."

"Bossy," Colin mutters, and gets up to fetch it all.

*

When he meets Bradley at Tony's a few hours later—freshly showered and shaved, dressed in the clothes Katie told him to wear—he makes a mental note to thank her later for knowing his wardrobe better than he does. Bradley straightens from where he's leaning on the counter talking to Tony and eyes Colin appreciatively. He's wearing what Colin assumes is his football kit, and the view of Bradley's legs makes him suddenly wonder why he never got into the sport to begin with.

"Hi," Colin says when he reaches him, sliding his hands into his front jeans pockets. His bracelets catch on the top.

"Hey," Bradley returns, grinning. "Ready?"

Colin nods, his stomach flipping. "Are we going to walk there from here?"

"Yeah; it's just a few blocks over," Bradley says, and waves goodbye to Tony before leading the way back out of the coffeeshop. "We've been playing in this same field for years. It's where I met Rupert and Santiago—my mates you'll be meeting. The three of us are the ones who started these Saturday matches."

"How long have you known them?" Colin asks, genuinely curious.

Bradley pulls a thoughtful face. "Wow. Um, I think we were ten? So about sixteen years. I've known Angel for longer though; we grew up next door to each other, and have been best friends practically since we were in nappies. She knows me better than anyone else."

"Yeah, I've got a friend like that," Colin says, grinning. "Her name's Katie, and I've known her so long sometimes I forget she's not actually my sister."

Bradley pauses and sends Colin a sideways look. "Long dark hair and pale green eyes with a bit of an attitude? Also Irish, but with a slightly different accent?"

Colin nods. "Yep, that's her. Katie's the one who told me about Tony's. As a matter of fact, you're the reason she sent me there to begin with, and also the reason she made me go back when you weren't there the first time."

"I like her already," Bradley immediately says. "We'll have to meet properly so I can thank her."

Colin winces slightly and feels his face heat. "I'd rather you didn't thank her, actually, but only because she'd never let me live it down."

Bradley throws his head back and laughs. "So you're grateful but don't want her to know?"

"Pretty much," Colin admits, grinning.

It doesn't take them long to reach the field, and when they arrive Colin's stomach flips at the dozen or so other people there. "So is the whole lot of them your friends?"

"Not really," Bradley says with a small shrug. "I'm familiar with everyone since we've all been playing for so long, but Rupert and Santiago are the only ones I consider _friends_." He raises his arm and waves at two of the players, who wave back and head for them, before flashing Colin a small smile. "They're the only two I care about you meeting."

Colin feels both relief and something warm spread through him, and he returns Bradley's smile with a real one of his own.

*

Rupert and Santiago are friendly, and Colin immediately likes them. They don't get a lot of time to talk before the match begins but he thinks that if things work out between himself and Bradley then he won't have any problems getting along with either of them. He kind of thinks Katie and Rupert would get on brilliantly as well, but he also thinks that it's probably a bit too soon to start setting up their friends.

There are benches scattered around the edge of the field, and Colin sits on the one Bradley points out as the best vantage point. He's never really understood the game of football but watching Bradley play gives Colin a new appreciation for it. It's not just that he looks sexy as hell, either; he's _really_ good, and even somebody as football illiterate as Colin can see it.

"Enjoying the game?"

Colin drags his eyes away from Bradley and looks up to see Angel standing beside the bench, smiling down at him. She's got a paper bag in one hand and a cardboard cup holder in the other.

"Quite," he says honestly, grinning widely. "I have to admit I don't really know much about what's going on, though."

Angel laughs and takes a seat on the bench, setting the paper bag down between them. "Don't worry, I've been watching for years and I still don't completely understand it." She flashes him a grin. "Honestly, I just come to watch the boys get sweaty."

"That's a good reason," Colin says, nodding seriously, and after a moment they both start laughing.

"Here," Angel says, and hands him one of the coffee cups from the cup holder. "Iced latte. Soy, because Bradley says that's what you always order. And there are a few cherry Danishes in the bag."

"Thanks," Colin says, surprised. "You didn't have to do that."

Angel shrugs and takes the other coffee cup from the cup holder. "It's no big deal. These games can last a while, so it's always a good idea to have something to keep you going."

Colin grins. "The hot, sweaty men aren't enough?"

"I wish," Angel says regretfully. "Unfortunately, my stomach says no."

"Sadly, mine does too," Colin agrees, and reaches into the bag for one of the Danishes. "So are you going to ask me what my intentions toward Bradley are?" He widens his eyes innocently, but his lips still twitch in amusement. Angel looks at him in surprise and then bursts out laughing.

"God, no," she gasps through the laughter. "Bradley can take care of himself, trust me. And to be honest I hope that at least _some_ of your intentions are dishonorable."

Colin flushes slightly. "Well…"

"I don't want to know the details," Angel says firmly. "The only thing I'm going to say about it is that Bradley's at a point in his life where he's ready for more than casual, and he's fully aware of it."

A small knot of worry that Colin hadn't even realized was there loosens, and he finds himself looking out at where Bradley is on the field. He bites his lip to keep himself from grinning like a fool.

"Good."

*

By the time the match finally ends evening has set in. Bradley is exhausted and sweaty and still full of adrenaline as he waves goodbye to Rupert and Santiago before making his way over to where Colin and Angel are still talking on the bench. They've been there the entire afternoon, Bradley occasionally catching glimpses of them laughing or gesticulating animatedly. He's glad they seem to be getting along, though he can't help but wish he knew what they've been talking about.

"Hey," Bradley says when he gets to them, giving Colin a wide smile. "Did you have fun?"

Colin grins up at him, eyes sparkling. "I did, actually. Angel and I agree that the best part is getting to watch."

"Definitely," Angel agrees. "Colin here couldn't keep his eyes off you."

Colin flushes slightly but doesn't deny it, and Bradley feels a giddy thrill go through him. "Oh, really?" is all he can think to say, and Colin gives him a tiny smile and a shrug.

"It's not my fault you were the best looking one out there."

A burst of embarrassed laughter escapes from Bradley and he ducks his head briefly before looking back up and catching Colin's eye, returning the smile.

"And that's my cue to leave," Angel says, balling up the empty paper bag Bradley recognizes as one from Tony's and throwing it at him. He catches it and when she stands he stuffs it into the top of the two empty coffee cups in her hand. "Have fun on the rest of your date," she says before giving a small wave and walking away.

"As long as you're not there!" Bradley calls after her, and she throws him two fingers over her shoulder. He snorts out a laugh and then turns to take her vacated seat beside Colin. "Honestly, did you have a good time?"

"I really did," Colin answers, smiling. "I have to admit that I'm not much of a football fan, but I enjoyed watching you play today. You're really good."

"Thank you," Bradley says with a short nod. "I've been playing for as long as I can remember. It's no doubt part of who I am."

Colin nods. "That's pretty obvious, yeah."

Bradley laughs and reaches up to push his fringe off his forehead, and then grimaces when he pulls his sweat-soaked fingers away. "Ugh. I was going to see if you wanted to go get something to eat, but I think I need a shower."

"You do smell pretty rank," Colin teases, wrinkling his nose.

"Oh, thanks," Bradley says drily, rolling his eyes.

"No problem," Colin quips, and then laughs when Bradley glares at him. "Alright, how about this? We can go back to your place, where I will sit nicely on your couch and not poke around for anything embarrassing while you take a shower. After that we can go out and get something to eat."

Bradley pretends to ponder this, and thinks it might be a bit too soon to tell Colin that he'd rather he didn't just sit nicely on the couch. "I approve this plan," he says instead. "Although considering the state of my flat at the moment, I doubt you would have to do more than use your eyes to find something completely humiliating."

Colin pulls his bottom lip between his teeth. "We don't have to do that," he says, sounding unsure. "It was just a thought—"

"No, no, it's fine," Bradley immediately interrupts. "I didn't mean to make it sound like I did. It's definitely the best plan, I think."

"If you're sure," Colin says after a moment. "I don't want to impose or anything."

Bradley just gives him a look and pushes himself off the bench. "Come on. My building's only about ten minutes from here."

"Alright," Colin says after a second's more hesitation. "Let's go."

*

When they finally reach his flat, Bradley can't help but think that his heart is trying to jump itself out of his chest. It's been a long time since he's been this anxious about bringing someone home, and this isn't even about sex.

"I really am sorry about the mess," he says when he opens the door to let them in. "It's been a while since I've had anybody over, so I don't think too much about it."

Colin steps through the door and glances around before turning to Bradley with an amused expression. "You call a few stray t-shirts, an empty beer bottle and a couple of DVD cases on the floor in front of the entertainment center a _mess_? And unless those DVD's are porn, I really don't see anything potentially embarrassing, either."

Bradley shuts the door with a click and looks around. "It's messy for me?" he offers, and Colin laughs.

"That's good to know," he says, eyes brimming with humour.

"Right," Bradley says, his own lips twisting into a smile. He gestures over his shoulder to the hallway. "I'm going to go get that shower, and despite your offer to sit nicely on the couch you're welcome to make yourself at home."

"Which means I'll probably just sit on the couch and wait," Colin points out with a small smile.

"Yeah, yeah," Bradley says, and heads for the hallway. "Seriously, there's beer in the fridge if you want one."

He grabs some clean clothes from his bedroom before locking himself in the bathroom, taking a second to close his eyes and lean back against the door. "You've got it bad, Bradley," he mutters to himself before pushing off the door and heading for the shower.

He keeps it short and just a bit on the chilly side, hurriedly washing the sweat away before jumping back out. Shaving isn't really an option, but he does thoroughly brush his teeth before drying off the excess water and pulling on his clothes. His stomach is doing nervous flips, and he wonders if he's even going to be able to eat anything at all.

Colin is indeed sitting on the couch when Bradley steps back into the living room, but there's something about the expression on his face that has Bradley frowning.

"Hey," he says. "Something wrong?" Colin looks up at him with guarded eyes and points at the coffee table. Bradley turns to look and sees the first two books in Colin's Onyx Sword series sitting there in plain view, and his heart skips. "Oh."

"You know," Colin says slowly, brow creasing, "I had honestly thought you didn't know who I was. Not that I expect everybody to, that would be stupid, but—I guess I had kind of hoped that you would be different than the other people who've asked me out because of my name."

"I didn't," Bradley says firmly, moving to sit next to Colin on the couch. "I had no idea who you were when we first met, not until Angel told me. Those books are hers; I borrowed them because I was already interested in you and wanted to see what they were about. I swear I didn't ask you out because of your name."

Colin bites his lip, nervously twisting the leather strap around his wrist. "Why didn't you tell me you knew?"

"I honestly didn't think about it," Bradley says with an awkward shrug. "Everything I need to know about the books is in them, and I was more interested in using my breaks to get to know _you_." He hesitates for a second. "Why didn't you tell me who you were yourself?"

Colin smiles ruefully. "Because the last person I dated was apparently only in it for the spoilers. I really like you, definitely more than I did him, so I couldn't help but be worried it would happen again. I'm still getting to know you."

Bradley nods slowly, and without thinking he reaches out and grabs Colin's hand, twining their fingers together. "How about this, then—I'm assuming what you've been working on at the coffeeshop is the third book. I'm still on the first one, but will definitely be finished reading the second before it's published. So I promise you that I won't ask a single thing about it before then, including for a pre-published copy or whatever it's called."

Colin blinks. "That's going to take at least another nine months to a year." He tightens his fingers around Bradley's. "I'm not sure which thought I like better—you waiting that long to read it just to prove yourself to me, or you planning on sticking around that long."

"Yeah, well," Bradley mutters, flushing despite the sudden smile making his lips twitch. "I kind of like you a lot, Mr. Colin Morgan."

Colin's answering smile is brilliant, and before Bradley realizes it's going to happen he's being pressed into the back of the couch, Colin's mouth on his. His breath hitches, catching in his throat as his chest tightens. Colin's lips are soft, the pressure firm, and Bradley brings his free hand up to press against the back of Colin's neck to hold him in place.

The kiss intensifies quickly, and fuck, it's probably better than anything he's ever experienced before. Bradley eagerly opens his mouth as Colin licks into it, their tongues sliding together messily. A whimper escapes him and Colin laughs breathlessly against his lips before tilting his head and slotting their mouths deeper together. This time Bradley moans, tongue playing along Colin's even as he moves his hand up to bury it in soft black hair.

Eventually Colin breaks the kiss, pulling back just far enough for Bradley to see his darkened eyes. "Christ," he breathes.

"Yeah," Bradley agrees.

They stare at each other for a few moments before Colin clears his throat and shifts back, forcing Bradley to drop his hand from his hair. "So I'm not at all a prude or anything, but not on the first date, yeah?"

Bradley tries very, very hard not to pout, and just barely manages not to. "Yeah," he says anyway, and then adds hopefully, "The second?"

Colin laughs. "I think we should go get some dinner. I'm hungry."

"Right, food," Bradley says, sitting up straighter. "There's a burger place around the corner. We could go there?"

Colin makes a slightly awkward face. "Um. I'm vegetarian, actually."

"Oh," Bradley says, blinking. "Well in that case, I have no idea."

Colin grins. "I know a diner on the other side of town that sells both regular burgers and veggie ones, along with the best chips you will ever in your life eat. Why don't we head over there?"

"Sounds good," Bradley says, and thinks yeah; this will be kind of brilliant.

[](http://s161.photobucket.com/albums/t233/dreamdustmama/?action=view&current=Divider_3.png)

Colin is awakened early on Sunday morning by the loud ringing of his mobile, and he gropes blindly for it on his bedside table.

"'Lo?"

"Details," Katie demands in a sing-song voice.

"Christ, Katie," Colin mutters around a yawn as he looks blearily at his clock. "You're never up this early on weekends."

"Mum called," Katie says shortly, which is really all the explanation needed. "And I figured while I was up I would call you to see how the date with Bradley went."

Even half-asleep Colin can't keep the stupid grin from spreading across his face. "It went brilliantly. His footie mates are nice—he plays amazingly, by the way—and I had a blast talking with Angel—you know her, she works at Tony's too—and then we went back to his flat so he could have a shower before we went out to eat at that little diner you and I go to."

"Wait," Katie says. "You went back to his flat?"

Colin snorts and rubs the sleep from his eyes. "Not for that. I told you, he needed a shower before we could get dinner. The only thing that happened there was I found out he does actually know about the books, but it's okay for various reasons. Oh, and we kissed."

"You _kissed_?!" Katie shrieks, delight clear in her voice. "How was it? Is he any good?"

"He's—" Colin struggles for a moment to find the right words to describe it, and finally has to settle on a simple, "Yes. Quite."

There's a pause, and then Katie says knowingly, "You're going to have sex with him, aren't you? Like, soon."

"Is there no part of my life that you won't pry into?" Colin complains. "And probably. Most likely. Yes, very soon, actually."

"Good," Katie says firmly. "Also, mu mum wants us to go shopping with her today—"

"Nope, sorry," Colin interrupts cheerfully. "Got another date with Bradley. I'll call you later yeah?"

"Colin Morgan, don't you _dare_ hang up—"

Colin hits the end button and tosses his phone onto the bed beside him, stretching. He hadn't been lying; he really does have another date with Bradley. Smiling, Colin thinks back to the night before. They had gone to the diner across town to eat, and spent a ridiculous amount of time laughing and joking and making bad innuendos. They rambled on about so many things Colin can't even remember how they got on the topic they did, but somehow it ended up being the plan for the day.

He glances at his clock and curses loudly, jumping out of bed. There's no way in hell he's going to let himself be late.

*

"So when was the last time you went roller skating?"

Colin laughs shortly and tightens the laces on the skates he rented from the main counter. "Um," he says thoughtfully. "I think I was probably about fourteen—so ten years? Yeah, that sounds about right."

"I was fifteen," Bradley tells him with a grin, lacing up his own skates. "One of the girls in my class had her birthday party at the local rink, and the DJ decided to play some sort of game with the songs. Well, my feet decided they didn't like that and I wound up falling flat on my face in a desperate effort not to do an unintentional split."

Colin winces. "Ouch."

"Very," Bradley agrees. "I haven't touched another pair of skates until now."

"I feel honored that you would risk humiliation again just to impress me," Colin teases, purposely giving Bradley a wide-eyed innocent look.

Bradley snorts, his eyes dancing with amusement. "You should. It's not anybody I would do this for."

"This was _your_ idea!" Colin protests, laughing. "And if you fall on your arse I'm going to remind you of that as many times as I possibly can."

"Then I'll just have to take you down with me, won't I?" Bradley quips, and cautiously pushes himself to his feet. The skates start to roll and he lets out a hiss of breath, grabbing desperately at the rail on the wall next to him.

Colin bursts out laughing. "If you can't even stay up in the carpeted area how the hell are you going to stay up in the rink itself?"

"Shut _up_," Bradley gets out around his own laugh, glaring at Colin in a decidedly un-heated manner. "Stand up, then, let's see you do it."

Colin rolls his eyes and goes to stand, only to find himself unbalanced and teetering. He makes a wild grab for Bradley, hands clenching in the fabric of his t-shirt, and can feel Bradley's laughter even as an arm wraps tightly around his waist.

"Alright," he admits after a moment. "Not as easy as I remember."

"Come on," Bradley says, shifting so that he's more beside Colin than in front of him. "We'll hold each other up."

Colin isn't quite sure how they do it, but they eventually make it out onto the rink. He can't seem to find his balance on the skates, and Bradley isn't doing much better.

"Wait, wait," Colin says, and carefully extracts Bradley's arm from around his waist, twining their fingers together instead. "There, let's try it this way."

"We're a bit ridiculous aren't we?" Bradley says, his grip tight on Colin's hand as they start to make their way around the wide part of the rink. "Two grown men who can't even manage to roller skate correctly."

"Shush," Colin admonishes, trying not to let his feet cross. "We'll get this right, we just need to—"

The skates on his feet suddenly move without his permission, and he grabs wildly at Bradley again. Unfortunately, this time Bradley doesn't have anything to catch himself on and the extra weight against him makes him lose his own balance. They crash to the floor with a hard thump, Colin sprawled sideways across Bradley's stomach.

"Ow," Bradley says, and Colin winces.

"Sorry."

They look at each other and burst out laughing.

"Come on," Bradley says, voice full of amusement. "Let's try this again.

It takes them several attempts that Colin has no doubt look completely idiotic, but eventually they're able to stand, both of them balancing precariously on their skates.

"How to roller skate, step one," Colin says. "Try a truly ridiculous amount of times to just _stand up_."

Bradley laughs loudly. "Step two," he picks up, grinning. "Refrain from touching your date, no matter how much you may want to." He holds both his hands up at shoulder level and makes a disappointed face.

"Step three," Colin continues around a laugh. "Try, probably unsuccessfully, to move."

They give each other a look before they both make a cautious roll forward. Neither of them fall, and Colin lets out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, grinning widely at Bradley.

"Step four," Bradley says when they've managed to successfully make it halfway around the rink. "Victory!" He pumps his fists into the air in triumph—and promptly falls on his arse.

Colin bursts out laughing and then has to throw his arms out to keep himself from following suit. "Step five," he says when he's regained his balance. "Don't get cocky."

Bradley huffs and glares up at him from where he's sitting on the floor. "Yeah I think I got that one."

"Aw, don't be grumpy," Colin teases, and holds out his hand. "Here, let's see if I can help you up without me falling as well."

Bradley reaches up to grasp his hand, and somehow they manage to get him standing without either of them landing back on the floor. "You know," he says, "I'm really glad we're the only ones here."

"Definitely," Colin agrees, and slides his arms around Bradley's waist. "Not only because we're making complete fools out of ourselves, but it means I can kiss you without being yelled at by angry parents."

Bradley looks surprised for a split second before he's grinning widely and pulling Colin even closer. "Angry parents are overrated anyway," he says quietly.

Colin's heart starts thumping wildly in his chest and then he's pressing his lips to Bradley's, breathing in the spicy scent of his aftershave. He opens his mouth and licks his way into Bradley's, a soft sound escaping him as their tongues slide together.

A sudden cackling sound interrupts the music that had been playing over the loudspeakers, and an amused sounding girl's voice echoes through the room.

"Okay, guys," she says. "Not that I'm not totally enjoying the show, but we're technically a PG-rated facility and I'm pretty sure a good snog constitutes at least a PG-13. So, um. The rules say I have to tell you to either skate or take it outside, please."

They break the kiss with breathless laughter, and Bradley pulls back to look up at the ceiling sheepishly. "Right, sorry," he says, and the music comes back on a second too late to cover the girl's giggles. He turns back to Colin with a grin. "I vote for taking it outside. I don't think I'm going to get any better at this skating lark than I was at fifteen. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure I can only get worse."

"Why don't we go take a walk down at the pier?" Colin suggests. "There's usually loads to do there."

"Sounds like a plan," Bradley agrees, and then raises one eyebrow. "Think we can make it all the way back across the rink without busting our arses again?"

Colin glances over at where the entrance to the carpeted area is and grimaces. "Step six. Making it back out without any major casualties."

Bradley throws his head back and laughs.

It's a close thing but they both make it to the carpet without falling again. Colin immediately sits down and unlaces the skates, pulling them off with a relieved sigh.

"Christ, I forgot how much these things hurt my feet."

Bradley makes a noise of agreement and plops down next to Colin on the bench. "You'd think they would make something like roller skates more comfortable."

"It's all part of their master plan," Colin says seriously, giving Bradley a significant look.

Bradley huffs out a laugh. "Whose master plan?"

"You know," Colin says, waving his hands around vaguely before reaching down to pull off his other skate. "_Them_."

"Ah, yes," Bradley says, nodding sagely. "The all-knowing, elusive _Them_, whose master plan is…" He cocks his head to the side and shoots Colin a curious look. "What, exactly?"

"To make us all so uncomfortable we don't care when they take us out," Colin explains. "It's true; I watch the Discovery channel."

They look at each other seriously for several seconds before Bradley loses it and starts laughing. "Alright, you win," he gasps out. "You're definitely weirder than I am."

Colin grins widely and picks up his skates before standing. "I embrace the weirdness, and reign supreme. It gives me character, or something like that."

Bradley shakes his head and stands as well, skates in one hand. "Come on then, Your Weirdness. Let's get our shoes and head down to the pier for some lunch. I'm starving."

*

The pier is just as crowded as usual, and they have to stand in line at a gyro vendor for a few minutes to get their lunch. They take it to one of the benches overlooking the ocean and settle in, both of them placing their feet on the wood of the rail in front of them.

"Okay," Bradley says. "If you couldn't be a writer, what would you do?"

"Oh god," Colin says, trying to picture a life without his worlds. "I don't know. I've always wanted to be a writer; I never really considered anything else. What about you? Did you ever want to be something other than a barista?"

Bradley shrugs. "I thought about being a lot of things—playing football professionally, acting, a few other things. I never could decide, but I had to do something for money after graduating sixth form so I went to work for Tony. My mum used to say that it wasn't ambitious enough, but I fell in love with it and never looked back. It's not the most lucrative career or anything, but I'm happy."

"That's more important, I think," Colin says, smiling. "To be happy with what you do. What's the point in being miserable if you don't have to be?"

"Exactly," Bradley agrees, and hesitates slightly, looking down at his lunch. "I've never told this to anyone else, even Angel, but I think I'd like to buy the coffeeshop from Tony when he retires. I even make up new coffee flavors to add to the menu." He laughs embarrassedly, flushing slightly. "It's silly, I know."

"No it isn't," Colin says honestly. "I think it's brilliant, actually. You'd do amazingly."

"You think?" Bradley asks, looking up.

Colin nods. "Definitely. I think you should talk to Tony about it, let him know so that he doesn't close it down or sell to a stranger. Somebody who already loves the place would do a much better job than someone who was only in it for the money."

"Maybe," Bradley says thoughtfully.

"At least think about it," Colin says. "Now eat. Some of those new vendors look interesting; I want to check them out."

Bradley laughs and picks up his gyro. "Demanding, huh?"

"I can be," Colin agrees, and sends him a wicked grin. "Especially in the right circumstances."

Bradley chokes and flushes bright red. "Christ," he coughs out. "Don't say things like that when I'm eating."

"Sorry," Colin says lightly, though he really, really isn't and the look Bradley sends him tells him he's not the only one who knows it.

When they finish their lunch they check out the stalls, and Colin ends up buying them both ridiculous hats—a plush crown for Bradley and a tall wizard's hat for himself.

"So does this mean I'm the king?" Bradley asks, waggling his eyebrows as he sets his on his head.

"Maybe," Colin answers in mock thought, adjusting his own. "But I'm the one with all the magic."

Bradley laughs and takes his hand, pulling him further down the pier. They visit a few more of the vendors before heading down to the beach, where they take off their socks and shoes and roll up their jeans. The surf is cold around Colin's feet, the wet sand squishing between his toes, and he tangles his fingers with Bradley's as they walk.

*

The next morning Bradley is sore, bruised, a little bit sunburned, and nearly giddy with happiness. He had had an absolute blast spending the day with Colin, and thinks he wouldn't at all mind it if every day was that way. When he gets to Tony's he's still got a huge smile on his face, and Angel raises an eyebrow in amusement.

"Finally get laid, then?"

"Nope," Bradley says cheerfully. "We went roller skating and made complete idiots of ourselves, and then spent the rest of the day down at the beach. We snogged like mad and then he went home to his flat and I went to mine."

Angel blinks. "You seem happy about this."

"I am." Bradley shrugs and starts his routine for getting everything ready for the day. "Colin is brilliant, and while I fully admit that I'd rather it happen sooner, I'm perfectly fine with waiting until later."

Angel stares at him for a second before breaking out into a wide, happy smile. "You really have fallen for him, haven't you?"

Bradley hesitates for a second before looking up at her. "Yeah," he says, sounding just a little bit awestruck even to his own ears. "Yeah, I have."

"Well," Angel says after a moment. "It's about damn time."

Bradley smiles in agreement and heads into the front section to get the coffee machines ready. He thinks back to what Colin said the day before, and bites his lip thoughtfully. Until yesterday the thought of one day buying this place from Tony hadn't been much more than wishful thinking, but now he can't help but seriously consider it. He hadn't been lying when he said he loves this place, and the idea of someone taking over who doesn't really give two shits about it makes him sick to his stomach.

Taking a deep breath, Bradley makes the decision to talk to Tony. It immediately settles something inside of him, and he lets out a breathless laugh before having to swallow hard. He distracts himself by finishing up getting everything ready.

Colin comes in during the mid-morning rush, and this time he has a laptop with him in addition to his notebook. He sends Bradley a small, secret smile before heading straight to his table and opening the computer. Bradley is a bit disappointed that he'll have to wait to tell Colin his decision, but he's quickly distracted by the annoyed-looking customer waiting to order.

When things finally slow down, he doesn't give himself time to think about it before he grabs a coffee cup and begins to make one of his own ideas. Colin is typing madly when Bradley gets to his table, eyes flicking over the black letters appearing on the screen. He almost hates to interrupt him but he's going to go a bit mad if he doesn't.

"So what does it mean when you use a computer to write instead of your notebook?" he asks as he sits in the empty seat.

Colin blinks and looks up at him, fingers pausing over the keys; a smile tugs at his lips. "It means the story going on in my head has finally reached the speed where I can't keep up with longhand. I type much faster than I write with a pen."

"Good reason," Bradley says, and sets the coffee cup in front of Colin. "Will you try this and tell me what you think? Honestly think, not false praise because you like me."

"Alright," Colin says, raising an eyebrow even as he picks up the cup. "Is this one of yours?"

"Yeah," Bradley answers nervously, wiping his hands on the front of his jeans. "It's got chocolate and caramel and hazelnut. Oh, and it's soy."

Colin smiles at him over the lid and then takes a long drink. "Wow," he says when he pulls the cup away. "Bradley, this is _really_ good."

"You think so?" Bradley asks, biting his lip.

"I do," Colin says. "Are you going to let Tony try it?"

"I haven't decided yet," Bradley says slowly. "But I _have_ decided that I'm going to talk to him about buying this place when he retires."

"That's great!" Colin exclaims, grinning. "You'll let me know what he says, yeah?"

Bradley relaxes slightly; knowing Colin supports him is a pretty incredible feeling. "Of course I will. You'll probably be the first one I tell." He grimaces. "The only one if he says no."

Colin kicks him lightly under the table. "He'll say yes, you know he will."

"I hope so," Bradley says.

Colin looks at him with something like affection. "He will," he says firmly, and Bradley hopes he's right.

[](http://s161.photobucket.com/albums/t233/dreamdustmama/?action=view&current=Divider_3.png)

It's Friday morning before he gets up the nerve to talk to Tony. He feels slightly sick to his stomach as he knocks on the office door, but if he backs out now he'll never forgive himself.

"Come in!"

Bradley opens the door and pokes his head around it. "Could I talk to you for a minute?"

Tony looks up from the papers in front of him and smiles, waving Bradley in. "Of course. Just give me two minutes to finish reading this over."

Bradley shuts the door behind him and quietly takes one of the chairs in front of Tony's desk. He nervously twists the hem of his shirt in his fingers, and can't help but wonder if maybe he's finally lost his mind after all.

"Alright," Tony says a minute later, setting the papers aside and looking fully at Bradley. "What did you want to talk about?"

Bradley takes a deep breath. "I've been thinking a lot about this, and when you retire—you know, years from now—I'd like to buy the coffeeshop from you."

Tony looks surprised, and he sits back in his seat to consider Bradley carefully. "That's a mighty big responsibility you want to take on."

"I know," Bradley says seriously. "I've worked here for almost eight years, and I've seen enough to realize how big of a deal it is. But I know I can handle it, and I love this place better than any stranger you sell it to could."

"That's gratifying to know," Tony says, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Though I can't help but wonder if you completely understand what owning a business truly entails."

Bradley shifts in his seat. "I'm not under any illusions. I know there's a lot I don't know about yet, but I'm willing to learn. I _want_ to learn. I honestly can't imagine not having this place in my life."

Tony is silent for a long moment, obviously thinking, and Bradley tries very hard to look like he's not scared shitless.

"I have to admit," Tony eventually says, "that I much prefer the idea of handing this place over to you than to somebody I don't know." He straightens in his chair. "Tell you what. I certainly don't plan on retiring for several more years, but in the meantime I can start teaching you the ins and outs of running a coffee shop." He smiles. "If, by the time I'm ready to enjoy my old age, you still want to buy it from me and we both think you're ready, then I'll sell it to you."

Bradley draws in a sharp breath, heart picking up speed as shock and relief course through him. "I can agree to that."

"Wonderful. We'll start on Monday," Tony says, and holds out his hand for Bradley to shake. "Honestly, this takes a burden off my shoulders I hadn't even realized was there. I trust you, Bradley, and I think everything will work out."

Bradley feels giddy laughter bubble up in his chest, and he swallows it back down as he shakes Tony's hand. "Thank you. You have no idea what this means."

"I think I do," Tony says with a wink, sitting back again in his chair. "Now, tell me. How are things going with the lad you've been talking to so much?"

"Colin?" Bradley says, surprised. He flushes, unable to stop the smile that spreads over his face. "Pretty brilliant, actually. We've been on a couple of dates, and he's—yeah."

Tony smiles warmly. "I'm glad."

Bradley can't help but think that he's pretty damn glad himself.

*

Colin is pulled abruptly out of his story when a pair of arms wrap around him from behind and squeeze tightly.

"Thank you," Bradley says quietly in his ear and Colin twists his head to look at him.

"What for?"

Bradley releases him and steps around to slide into the seat on the other side of the table. "If it weren't for you I might never have had the guts to ask Tony about taking over when he retires."

Colin's eyes widen and he sits up straighter. "You asked him? What did he say?"

"He said—" Bradley stops and takes a visible breath, "—he said that he'll start teaching me everything I need to know, so that when he's ready to retire I can buy the shop if I still want to."

"He said yes?" Colin exclaims, a huge smile breaking out over his face. "That's brilliant!"

"I know, I still can't quite believe it," Bradley says, letting out a breathless laugh.

Colin bites his lip. "Let's go celebrate," he says. "When you get off tonight. We'll go out to a pub or something."

The smile on Bradley's face widens. "That sounds brilliant."

"Great," Colin breathes. "I'll stay until closing, and then we can head out from here."

"It's a plan," Bradley agrees, and then glances at his watch. "Damn. I've got to get back to work."

"Good," Colin teases. "You're distracting me from my book."

"Just for that you're buying the first round," Bradley says, pointing at him.

Colin laughs and shoos him away.

*

He isn't entirely sure how it happens, but one minute he and Bradley are getting ready to leave the coffeeshop to walk over to a nearby pub and the next Angel, Katie, Rupert and Santiago are all invited along.

"You should tell them why we're here," Colin says to Bradley while they're at the bar placing their drink order. "I'm pretty sure they'd be proud of you."

Bradley hesitates. "Maybe," he says. "I think I'm still a bit overwhelmed by it, to be honest."

"It's your call," Colin says with a shrug and a smile. "But for what it's worth, I vote for telling."

Bradley remains quiet for the rest of their wait, and Colin can almost see him thinking about it. They split the drinks between them to carry, making their way through the crowd and back to the table they had claimed when they first arrived. Colin has to bite his lip to hide his grin when he sees Katie and Rupert in deep conversation.

"Here you go," he says, handing over Rupert's beer and Katie's vodka tonic. He snorts in amusement when Katie flashes him a smile he knows well, glancing quickly at Rupert before looking back at her. "Yeah, I figured."

"Hush, you," Katie says, taking a sip of her drink. "I'm just glad I'm finally getting to meet your new boyfriend."

Colin flushes and gives her a warning look, but Bradley just laughs as he takes his seat next to him.

"It's nice to meet you, too," Bradley says to her.

"I agree," Angel pipes up, grinning at Katie. "I can't wait to exchange embarrassing stories about the boys."

Katie sits up straighter and points at her purposely. "Remind me to tell you about the time he—"

"Un-gay kissing," Colin says loudly, and Katie narrows her eyes at him.

Santiago leans close to Angel. "Make sure you tell her about the time Bradley thought—"

"Okay," Bradley interrupts as Rupert begins laughing behind his hand. "Hold off on the embarrassing stories tonight, please." He takes a deep breath. "We're here to celebrate."

Colin smiles and squeezes Bradley's hand under the table, getting a grateful smile in return.

"What are we celebrating?" Angel asks, raising her eyebrows.

Rupert points his beer at Bradley. "If you say getting laid, I swear—"

"_Christ_," Bradley hisses flushing. "God—if you all would just _shut up_ I'd tell you." The table quiets and Bradley takes another deep breath. "This morning I had a talk with Tony. Starting Monday, he'll be teaching me how to run the coffeeshop so that when he retires I can buy it and take over."

Angel immediately lets out a shriek and throws her arms around Bradley's neck. "Oh my god! That's completely brilliant, I had no idea you were even thinking about doing that!" She suddenly pulls back and punches him on the arm, scowling. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Ow," Bradley complains, rubbing his arm. "And I didn't tell you because I wasn't sure it would work out, not to mention I'm going to have to save for ages to be able to afford it. I didn't even seriously consider it until last weekend."

"That's amazing, mate," Santiago says, reaching over to shake Bradley's hand. "Good luck; running a business is a lot of work."

"I know," Bradley says, grinning. "But I'm up for the challenge."

"We're definitely celebrating," Rupert adds. "Next round's on me!"

"Congratulations," Katie says sincerely, smiling at him. "I'm more glad than ever that I made Colin go to Tony's to work through his block."

"Yes!" Bradley says, pointing at her. "Thank you for that."

Colin groans. "I told you not to do that! Now she's going to use that to make me go shopping with her."

"I'll make it up to you," Bradley says with a lascivious smile, and everybody at the table balls up their napkins to throw at him.

*

It's either very late or very early when they finally stumble their way out of the pub, and Colin thinks vaguely that he shouldn't be leaning quite so much. It's ok though, because Bradley is warm against his side, his laughter soft in Colin's ear.

"You're a bit of a lightweight, aren't you?"

Colin thinks about this. "Yes," he finally decides. "Just a little bit." He twists his head to look around. "Where's Katie? An' the rest of 'em."

Bradley laughs again. "Katie and Rupert left together, but neither of them had drunk very much so I don't think it'll be a problem. Angel and Santiago each took a taxi."

"Good," Colin says firmly.

"Which part?" Bradley asks, sounding amused.

Colin has to think about this too. "All of it."

Bradley chuckles and tightens his arm around him. "I'll get you a taxi, too. Call you tomorrow."

"No," Colin says with a frown, twisting to face him and sliding his arms around Bradley's neck. "Come home with me."

Bradley groans and rests his forehead against Colin's. "I can't, Col. You're definitely drunk, and I'm not exactly sober."

"I'm not that drunk," Colin huffs in irritation. "I mean, I _am_, but I know me and I know I'm not drunk enough to forget what happens."

"Not the point," Bradley says, sounding regretful even to Colin's ears. "I don't want our first time to be like that."

Colin pulls back enough to look Bradley in the eye, suddenly a lot more sober. "You're pretty wonderful, do you know that?"

Bradley smiles and lets out a soft, embarrassed laugh. "I'm glad you think so."

Colin leans forward and presses their mouths together, sliding his hands up to bury in Bradley's hair. He moans softly, opening his mouth to let Bradley slip his tongue inside. When they break apart he opens his eyes and gazes into Bradley's.

"Come home with me," he says again. "Not—not for that. Just to sleep."

Bradley hesitates, and then lets out a sigh. "Alright," he says, lips quirking up. "But only for sleeping."

Colin smiles widely. "Only for sleeping," he repeats, and kisses Bradley again.

*

The next morning Bradley wakes to a small headache and a warm hand sliding over his stomach. He rubs the sleep from his eyes and turns his head to see Colin staring back at him, eyes clear and dark. His heart skitters slightly, a warm feeling of happiness spreading through his chest.

"Thank fuck," Colin says. "I thought you were going to sleep forever."

Bradley laughs and reaches up to run one hand through Colin's messy hair. "You could have woken me. I wouldn't have minded."

"What do you think I just did?" Colin asks, flashing him a grin as he slides his hand higher.

Bradley makes a thoughtful noise. "This is true."

He wraps his arms around Colin's waist and pulls him on top of him; Colin makes a startled noise before huffing out a laugh.

"Sober now?" Bradley asks, slipping his hands under the back of Colin's t-shirt to slide over sleep-warm skin.

"Very," Colin says, shivering slightly; his cock is undeniably hard against Bradley's hip.

"Good."

Bradley tilts his head up and captures Colin's lips in a soft kiss, parting his own to lick into Colin's mouth. It's slow and lazy, heat building just under the surface. Neither of them has brushed their teeth but Bradley really, really doesn't care, his cock having been achingly hard since he woke up. He slides his hands down to grip Colin's hips, pulling him tight against him as he thrusts upward.

"Christ," Colin moans, breaking the kiss to scrape his teeth down Bradley's jaw. "I understand last night, but if you don't fuck me this morning I'm going to have a serious problem with that."

Bradley's breath hitches and his fingers tighten on Colin's hips. "Do you have anything?"

Colin snorts and pulls away, forcing Bradley to release him so that he can shift over, pulling open the top drawer on the bedside table. He reaches inside and pulls out a small bottle of lube and a condom, tossing them onto the bed before climbing back on top of Bradley, this time straddling his hips.

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't prepared," Colin says, smiling slightly.

"Just checking," Bradley says, and pulls him down for another kiss.

Colin makes a pleased noise and grinds down against him, their cocks pressing together through the thin material of their boxers. He breaks the kiss to sit up and pull his t-shirt over his head, Bradley rising up enough to tug his own off, and then Colin buries his hands in Bradley's hair, kissing him hard and deep as they tumble backwards onto the pillows. A moan echoes through Bradley's chest, and he drags his hands down Colin's back, sliding them over his arse and pulling him even closer. Colin breaks the kiss and moves back to wrap his fingers around the waist of Bradley's boxers, pulling them down and off before sliding out of his own. He quickly moves over Bradley again, his knees tight around Bradley's waist as he goes back to kissing him breathless. He rocks his hips downward, sliding their bare cocks together, and Bradley hisses in a breath as he bucks upward.

"Fuck," Bradley whimpers, and bites down on Colin's bottom lip as he reaches blindly for the bottle of lube. He finds it, flips open the cap and pushes Colin into a sitting position. "You want it like this?"

"Yeah," Colin breathes, reaching down to palm his own cock. "Just like this, so I can watch you fall apart beneath me."

"_Christ_," Bradley chokes out, and pours some of the lube out onto shaking fingers.

He slips his hand behind Colin's balls, rubbing his thumb along the skin there until his fingers find Colin's entrance and press lightly. He hears a sharply drawn breath and his eyes flick up to meet Colin's dark gaze, swallowing as his chest suddenly tightens. Colin rocks his hips forward with a soft whine, and Bradley bites his lip as he presses one finger in to the knuckle. Their eyes stay locked, and Colin shudders above him.

"More."

Bradley lets out a breath and adds a second finger to the first, feeling Colin tense and then relax around them. "Fuck, you are _unbelievably_ sexy."

Colin flushes and grins down at him, slightly breathless. "More," he orders firmly.

Bradley groans, pushing a third finger in with the other as Colin curses and grips the base of his cock. It's so very tight around Bradley's fingers, and the thought of Colin clenching around his dick has him whining and thrusting upward, the head of his cock dragging along the inside of Colin's thigh.

"Please," he whispers. "I'm not going to last long as it is."

"Yeah," Colin moans. "Yes. Get the-the—"

His words stutter as Bradley twists his wrist and finds Colin's prostate, rubbing his finger over it a few times as he watches Colin's lips part and eyelids flutter closed.

"Fucking _Christ_," Colin moans, opening his eyes to reveal blown-wide pupils.

Bradley carefully pulls his fingers free and fumbles for the condom, ripping open the package and taking it out. He reaches down to roll it on and then Colin is wrapping his fingers around him, pressing the head of Bradley's cock to his hole and sinking down. A gasp catches in Bradley's chest and he can't breathe, arching his back as he tries not to push as hard as he can into the tight, tight heat of Colin's body. His eyes close and his hands come up to grip Colin's hips, fingers curling around them as Colin continues to fuck himself down, gasping sounds escaping his throat. Bradley feels Colin's thumb trace along his bottom lip and he parts them; Colin groans, slipping two fingers into his mouth and pressing his thumb to the underside of Bradley's jaw.

"So beautiful," Colin breathes.

Bradley opens his eyes to look up at him, catching and holding his gaze as he begins to suck on his fingers. His cock is now buried deep inside of Colin, and it's fucking brilliant already but then Colin starts to move, rolling his hips in a steady rhythm that drags his cock across Bradley's stomach. Bradley moans around Colin's fingers and slides one hand over to wrap it around Colin's hard length, stroking slow and experimental at first; when Colin whines and rocks forward into Bradley's hand he increases the pace. It doesn't take much to discover that Colin likes it fast and a bit on the rough side, so he squeezes harder and pulls, pressing his thumb to that spot just under the head before swiping it over the slit and spreading the precome that's gathering there. Colin stares down at him, eyes dark and wide and fingers curling inside Bradley's mouth. He slams his hips downward, taking Bradley in impossibly deep, and Bradley can feel his rim stretch further around his dick.

"Oh god," Colin chokes out, eyes rolling back slightly.

A few seconds later Colin's cock pulses in Bradley's hand and his stomach is coated with hot liquid, and Bradley realizes that Colin is coming. He moans low and deep, working Colin through it, and then he's thrusting up hard, again and again until it's just too much and he lets go. He cries out when he comes, Colin's fingers slipping out of his mouth and trailing wet down his jaw and over his neck.

After a few long, blissful moments Colin shifts, raising up and letting Bradley's softening cock slip out of him. They both hiss slightly, and Colin grins down at him before stretching out beside him on the bed.

"Well," Bradley says when he's removed the condom and caught his breath. "That was pretty fucking brilliant, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Colin agrees, turning his head to look at Bradley and smiling happily. "Yeah, it definitely was."

*

Epilogue

_One Year Later_

"Bradley, I don't think I can do this."

Bradley looks up from the book he's got open on the counter to give Colin an exasperated look. "Yes, you can," he says fondly. "It's just a book signing."

"No, I really don't think I can," Colin insists from where he's standing on the other side of the counter, looking around at the empty coffeeshop with obvious trepidation. "I've never let my agent talk me into doing one of these before. What if nobody shows up?"

"Colin," Bradley says firmly. "_Fire Dagger_ released as number one on the bestseller's list. I honestly don't think you need to worry about nobody showing up. It's still an hour until opening."

Colin scowls at him. "You think you're helping, but you're really not."

Bradley sighs and marks his place in the book before closing it; it had been hard as fuck but he'd kept his promise, not even trying to take a peek at Colin's notes and rough drafts before the book was officially published.

"Colin," he says, reaching over to grasp Colin's hand in his. "Relax, love. People _adore_ your books, myself included, and I promise you that by the time the signing ends your hand is going to want to fall off."

Colin huffs out a laugh and squeezes Bradley's hand. "I hope you're right."

"I am," Bradley says confidently. "Now be quiet and let me get back to reading. I've just reached the part where you—oh, I mean _Milo_—has just saved me—oops, I mean _Alex_—from the fire in the White Cave and is subtextually confessing his love."

Colin flushes, smiling sheepishly. "Noticed that, did you?"

"And you created these characters when, exactly?" Bradley asks teasingly, giving Colin an over-exaggerated confused look.

"Shut up," Colin laughs, and leans over the counter to press a kiss to his mouth.

Bradley returns the kiss, sliding his tongue briefly against Colin's before pulling back. "If you've killed one of us at the end you're sleeping on the couch for a week."

Colin snorts. "We don't _have_ a couch, remember? The whole 'can't decide whether to move yours or mine to the new flat' argument that we've been having for the past bloody month."

"Oh, right," Bradley says. "In that case, I guess we'll just have to go buy a new one so I can kick you out of the bed."

"You wouldn't dare," Colin smirks. "Because _me_ not being in the bed would mean _you_ not waking up to any surprise blowjobs."

Bradley pauses. "What were we talking about? I don't remember." Colin gives him a smug smile and Bradley narrows his eyes. "Go away. I have to finish this chapter before unlocking the door to let the queue in."

"What queue?" Colin asks, and twists his head toward the door. While they were talking a line of people holding his book had begun to accumulate outside. "Oh."

"Yes, _oh_," Bradley repeats with a laugh. "Now go make sure your table is set up the way you want it, and I'll bring you a coffee in a few."

"Right," Colin says weakly, and starts to make his way toward the table prepared on the other side of the room.

He's barely taken three steps when he turns around and comes back to the counter, reaching for Bradley and pulling him in to a deep kiss. When they break apart the look Colin gives him steals his breath.

"I love you," Colin says quietly.

"I know," Bradley says, and smiles. "I love you, too."

And between the two of them, they both think that it's something kind of wonderful.

[](http://s161.photobucket.com/albums/t233/dreamdustmama/?action=view&current=Divider_2.png)

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are welcome here or on [my LJ](http://dreamdustmama.livejournal.com/109398.html#cutid1).


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